Prior to becoming Principle Guest Conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Andrey Boreyko served as chief conductor of the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra from 2004- 2009, and he is currently engaged in the same position with the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra. In his first recording for hänssler CLASSIC, Maestro Boreyko delivered what has come to be regarded as one of the definitive recordings of Shostakovich's difficult and emotionally searing Fourth Symphony. For this new release, Boreyko returns with what will surely become benchmark versions of two equally difficult Shostakovich scores.

The 9th Symphony was composed in 1945 and was a surprisingly bright score in contrast to the epic and grim "War Symphonies" - the Seventh and the Eighth. It is one of Shostakovich's smallest symphonies, both in terms of duration and instrumentation and draws to mind the classicism of Haydn and Rossini. The Fifteenth Symphony was premiered in 1972 and was Shostakovich's last completed symphony. Similar to the Ninth, it is also written for a comparatively small orchestra, though with a rather large percussion section. The humor of the 9th Symphony is also apparent in the 15th but here, it is rather ironic and elliptical. In both works, Boreyko skillfully shapes the emotional content.