This recording was made shortly after Bernstein and the NYP toured Russia and played this in Moscow with Shostakovich present. The original cover artwork showed them embracing on the cover. But the recording, itself, was made on the floor (not stage) of the Boston Symphony Hall and critics at the time of release marveled that it was the best "sounding" NYP recording to date. The main "feature" in Russia was that it is the fastest 4th movement they had ever heard which was very exciting and revelatory to some. I learned this music from this recording so, by comparison, any recording I've heard since then has sounded stodgy. Bernstein seemed to have both an affinity for and a sympathy for Shostakovich. This is a classic and great document of Bernstein a year after he took the helm of the NYP.
