When Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony created a global sensation, anticipation for its successor was immense. The Eighth (1943) proved far darker and more inward — not a celebration of resistance but a searing portrait of the cost of war. In five movements played without break, it moves from the sprawling Adagio opening through a mechanical Allegretto and a brutal, driving third movement to the bleak Largo and an ambiguous, unresolved finale. The haunting cor anglais solo that opens the symphony is among the most memorable moments in the symphonic repertoire. Mark Wigglesworth draws a performance of concentrated intensity from the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, making this one of the most compelling accounts of a work that demands everything from its performers.