Symphony No. 14 (Op. 135) was completed in the spring of 1969 by Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975). It is a work for soprano, bass and a small string orchestra with percussion, consisting of eleven linked settings of poems by four authors. Most of the poems deal with the theme of death, particularly that of unjust or early death. The composer himself was initially unsure what to call the work, eventually designating it a symphony rather than a song cycle to emphasise the unity of the work musically and philosophically: most of the poems deal with the subject of mortality. The average playing time is 50 minutes (AllMusic). I have a number of versions, but I'm always going back to the first one I heard, which has the added bonus that the poems are all sung in their original language. This version is by the Concertgebouw Orchestra under Bernard Haitink, with Julia Varady and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, on a Decca CD.
