Among the defining achievements of Vasily Petrenko's chief conductorship of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic has been his painstaking examination, in performance and on disc, of Shostakovich's complete symphonies. Extended over several seasons and avoiding a chronological approach, the series drew to its eventual close with a formidable account of the Thirteenth Symphony, "Babi Yar", a work that plays a part in the RLPO's own history: the orchestra gave the work's first performance in western Europe under Charles Groves in 1971. Petrenko's popularity in Liverpool seems undented by the controversy caused by his remarks about women conductors earlier this month. The house, unusually for this work, was packed, and the response enthusiastic.
The Thirteenth is among the least ambiguous of Shostakovich's symphonies. Setting poems by Yevgeny Yevtushenko for male voice choir, bass soloist and a colossal orchestra, it rages overtly against Stalinism and demands we learn from history by refusing to revert to its extremes. The opening movement, drawing parallels between Nazi and Soviet antisemitism, is one of music's great anti-racist statements, a thing of fury and terror, which Petrenko unleashed with tremendous force. Later he brought irony and sadness to bear on Shostakovich's contemplation of the attempted suppression of satire, the dreariness of bread queues, and the nature of scientific and artistic responsibility.
Alexander Vinogradov was the aggressive yet sorrowing soloist. The men of the Liverpool Philharmonic Choir and Huddersfield Choral Society sang with great fervour and intensity.
Its companion pieces, showcasing the orchestra's sections, were Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments and Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings, a coupling that works extraordinarily well. Stravinsky's chilly rituals, pivotally linking the soundworld of The Rite of Spring with pared-down 1920s neoclassicism, makes a fine contrast with Tchaikovsky's elegant passion. The Serenade was played with detailed beauty and telling emotional restraint, reminding us that its familiarity shouldn't blind us to its quality.
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