No music is more essential to Semyon Bychkov, or closer to the bone, than Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony.
In November 2026, Pentatone will release Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7, performed by the Czech Philharmonic under the direction of its Chief Conductor and Music Director, Semyon Bychkov.
For Bychkov, the music is deeply personal. He and Shostakovich share a home city Leningrad (now St Petersburg) and Bychkov grew up surrounded by people who had known the composer. He became obsessed with Shostakovich’s music from a very young age and in 1974, while studying at the Leningrad Conservatory, Bychkov chose Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony for his examination performance.