Ben Bates
Symphony No. 1 (Australian work)

Bates’ Symphony No. 1 was begun as far back as 1992, originally scored for classical guitar, xylorimba, pipe organ and contrabass. The work was premiered in 2018 by the ad hoc Melbourne Composers’ Orchestra, cond. Robert Dora. The first and second movements explore elements of diminished and octatonic tonalities and shifting time signatures. The third movement retains a solo line originally written for the guitar alternating between the piccolo and flute. The last movement returns to the harmony and time signature juxtapositions of the opening movement, incorporating new themes contrasted against bursts of thematic motives extracted from the opening section of the symphony.

Dmitri Shostakovich
Symphony No. 9 Op. 70 (1945)

Shostakovich completed his ninth symphony in the summer of 1945, annd was first performed in Leningrad a few weeks later.  Shortly before the premiere, Shostakovich played the work on the piano for a group of critics and correspondents, including Robert Magidoff of the New York Times. When he finished, according to Magidoff, Shostakovich said, “it is a merry little piece. Musicans will love to play it and critics will delight in blasting it.” Fortunately Magidoff turned out to be correct in his first prediction and wrong in respect to the symphony’s critical reception!