Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, led by Manfred Honeck, returned to Carnegie Hall for the first time in more than a decade with a program that featured Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5!

The New York Times hailed the performance as “an unsparing demonstration of how orchestral sophistication of the highest order can be put to profound aesthetic ends,” illuminating a work widely seen as a comeback moment for the composer after its 1937 premiere by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra.

On the surface, the finale sounds bold and triumphant, driving toward a sense of optimism and joy. But listen a little closer, and it starts to feel different. Shostakovich himself later suggested that this sense of rejoicing is forced, created under pressure, transforming what might seem like a heroic apotheosis into something more like a grim, relentless march.

Explore performances recorded live at Carnegie Hall: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6on-dqI0230H5jgcYB4TOm0d43Y0UqWt

Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47
Written by Dmitri Shostakovich
Used by permission of G. Schirmer, Inc. (ASCAP)

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