The San Diego Symphony continues to draw praise with the wide release of the Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7, "Leningrad," led by Music and Artistic Director Rafael Payare. The recording is now available on CD and streaming worldwide.  

The recording, released on Delos, is the Symphony’s first album recorded showcasing the remarkable acoustics of the renovated Jacobs Music Center. It is also the first San Diego Symphony recording to debut exclusively on Apple Music Classical before the worldwide digital release on Aug. 28 and CD release on Sept. 11. 

A History with Shostakovich 

Composed during the Nazi siege of Leningrad, Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony remains one of the defining orchestral works of the 20th century. 

Payare often gravitates toward Shostakovich, both with the San Diego Symphony and as a guest conductor. The Symphony recorded Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony, “The Year 1905,” in 2022. In November, the Symphony will perform Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony back at the Jacobs Music Center. A February concert will include Symphony No. 5 and in March Payare will conduct Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1.

Critical Acclaim  

The recording continues to draw recognition nationally and internationally.

An earlier review in Le Devoir commended the San Diego Symphony's playing and Payare's interpretation as one "distinguished for its clarity and power." 

As that reviewer observed, "Payare's Shostakovich is not one that shouts or tears at the listener—it crushes." 

Gramophone selected the recording for their October 2026 issue Editor’s Choice of best new classical recordings, stating "Rafael Payare leads an impressive account of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, rich in detail and powerful in drama."

The reviewer for BBC Music Magazine focused on Payare’s deep understanding and relationship with the piece.

"One of the most insightful moments comes at the opening where Payare’s dogged and deliberately heavy-handed accentuation gives the music a numbness that accords with the composer’s description of the work as not depicting Leningrad under siege, but rather representing the city that Stalin had already destroyed and that Hitler merely finished off. 

Payare’s tempi are well-judged throughout and work effectively in the ‘invasion’ middle section of the first movement, where the conductor resists the temptation to increase the speed ever so slightly as more instruments join the fray. In this respect, the entry of the extra brass at the movement’s climax is thrilling," BBC Music Magazine 

Both the Orchestra and the newly renovated Jacobs Music Center received nods in Paul Bodine’s review for Classical Music Daily, "Thanks to the impressively three-dimensional sonic space created by the Jacobs Music Center's DiGiCo Quantum5-based integrated recording system, we hear a studio-grade digital recording with the electricity and presence of a live account.” 

The release comes as the San Diego Symphony continues to grow its international profile. Making the San Diego Sound available to global listeners just months ahead of the Symphony’s debut European tour.