1 Moderato
2 Allegretto
3 Largo
4 Allegro non troppo

What is the story?

Shostakovich wrote his Fifth Symphony at a time in Stalin’s Russia when artists were tightly controlled by the government. They were held to a policy of ‘socialist realism’, which broadly meant that art was required to be easily communicated – nothing too jarring or complex – rooted perhaps in the country’s folk heritage and intended to serve the people by boosting public morale. This artists had to do, or suffer the consequences. Shostakovich in particular had reason to look over his shoulder, since he had been lambasted in the press for his lewd, dissonant opera, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District. Out of caution, he withdrew his challenging Fourth Symphony before its first performance. The Fifth would have to be more conformist and was presented as an acceptance of the State criticism – in effect an ‘atonement’ symphony.

What’s the music like?

Did the audience at the Fifth Symphony’s premiere hear their own condition in the tense, unsettling first movement? The jagged, aggressive introduction soon slips away to reveal a weary, questioning theme in the first violins. The second theme, the violins now soaring higher over a long–short–short rhythmic accompaniment, is equally searching, if more serene. Ahead of the return of this material, the music becomes rhythmically driven, building to a sneering march and a further, powerful climax. The return of the earlier soaring theme (flute and horn now duetting) seems to bring hope, but the end leads us into an ethereal void.

The short second movement is the symphony’s scherzo. By convention, this is a quick, light-hearted piece, but this one opens with growling cellos and basses, joined by macabre pecking high winds. The central trio section spotlights a balletic solo violin and flute.

The Largo is the expressive core of the symphony and yet it took Shostakovich only three days to write. The strings strike a tragic tone, but there are moments of biting anguish too. At the symphony’s premiere, this movement prompted some in the audience to weep.

And then the finale, with its extrovert outer sections framing a darker, probing central section. After the fast music returns, the affirmation at the end is hammered home. Hard-won triumph or blatant caricature? Perhaps Shostakovich, partly with his own survival in mind, allowed for both interpretations.

The London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra believes that extraordinary music should be available to everyone, everywhere – from orchestral fans in the concert hall to first-time listeners all over the world.

The LSO was established in 1904 as one of the first orchestras shaped by its musicians. Since then, generations of remarkable talents have built the LSO's reputation for quality, daring, ambition and a commitment to sharing the joy of music with everyone. Today, the LSO is ranked among the world’s top orchestras, reaching tens of thousands of people in London and on stages around the world, and millions more through streaming, downloads, radio, film and television.

As Resident Orchestra at the Barbican since the Centre opened in 1982, the LSO performs some 70 concerts there every year with its family of artists: Chief Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor Emeritus Sir Simon Rattle, Principal Guest Conductor Gianandrea Noseda, Conductor Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas, and Associate Artists Barbara Hannigan and André J Thomas. The LSO has major artistic residencies in Paris, Tokyo and at the Aixen-Provence Festival, and tours regularly in Asia and the US.

Through LSO Discovery, the LSO’s learning and community programme, 60,000 people each year experience the transformative power of music, with many more taking part in LSO Discovery’s work on tour and online. The Orchestra’s musicians are at the heart of this unique programme, leading workshops, mentoring bright young talent, working with emerging composers, visiting children’s hospitals, performing at free concerts for the local community, and using music to support neurodiverse adults. Concerts for schools and families introduce children to music and the instruments of the Orchestra, with an ever-growing range of digital resources and training programmes supporting teachers in the classroom.

The home of much of this work is LSO St Luke’s, the LSO's venue on Old Street. In the autumn of 2025, following a programme of works and upgrades, the LSO opened up the venue’s unique facilities to more people than ever before, with new state of-the-art recording facilities and community spaces.

The LSO’s record label LSO Live is a leader among orchestra owned labels, bringing to life the excitement of a live performance. The catalogue of over 200 acclaimed recordings reflects the artistic priorities of the Orchestra – from popular new releases, such as Janáček’s Katya Kabanova with Sir Simon Rattle, to favourites like Vaughan Williams’ symphonies with Sir Antonio Pappano and Verdi’s Requiem with Gianandrea Noseda.

The LSO has been prolific in the studio since the infancy of orchestral recording, making more recordings than any other orchestra – over 2,500 projects to date – across film, video games and bespoke audio collaborations. Recent highlights include soundtrack recordings for the video game Genshin Impact, a Mercury Music Prize-nominated collaboration with Floating Points and Pharoah Sanders, and appearing on screen and on the Grammy-winning soundtrack for the film Maestro, which was also nominated for multiple BAFTA and Oscar awards.

Through inspiring music, learning programmes and digital innovations, the LSO’s reach extends far beyond the concert hall. And thanks to the generous support of The City of London Corporation, Arts Council England, corporate supporters, trusts and foundations, and individual donors, the LSO is able to continue sharing extraordinary music with as many people as possible, across London and the world.