Philip Mackenzie conducts the Mozart Symphony Orchestra in Shostakovich‘s ironic response to Stalin’s commentary on his music – his Fifth Symphony – and a dazzling selection of music by Tajikistan’s most important composer, Tolibkhon Shakhidi.

Tolibkhon Shakhidi is arguably the most important living Tajik composer. He represents a very rare type of universal master composer who possesses the whole arsenal of contemporary musical language yet uses the richest resources of traditional Eastern music of his region.

Shostakovich wrote his Fifth Symphony in an ironic response to an article in Pravda titled “Muddle instead of Music”, presumably penned by Stalin.

Its genius lies in its multi-layered meaning. Stalin heard a celebratory Soviet symphony whereas Shostakovich wrote of the ending: ‘It’s as if someone were beating you with a stick and saying, “Your business is rejoicing, your business is rejoicing”, and you rise, shaky, and go marching off, muttering, “Our business is rejoicing, our business is rejoicing.”‘