(Producer Todd is off recording Two Star Symphony's new album right now (sweet!), so we have unearthed some old gold for you from the vault. Please enjoy this repeat of our class with conductor James Gaffigan. We'll be back next week with another spankin' new episode.)

Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 is dramatic, cinematic, erratic, sarcastic, and full of existential longing – according to Chief Conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, James Gaffigan. Why is it important to listen to this symphony, the musical expression of Shostakovich's depression and anxiety as he lived under Stalin's thumb? Listen to this episode and find out!

Audio production by Todd "Taller than Necessary" Hulslander with inspired napping from Dacia Clay.

Music in the episode includes:

– Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47, New York Philharmonic Orchestra led by Leonard Bernstein

To find out more about hilarious comedian Jim Gaffigan, go to a different website. :)