Philharmonia Orchestra – Fear & Repression

Philharmonia Orchestra – Fear & Repression

The Philharmonia Orchestra looks at Shostakovich’s work in the context of a shifting Soviet political landscape.

No Russian composer experienced the oppressive hand of the Soviet state more than Dmitri Shostakovich.

Composed 30 years after the revolution, Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto was written in the shadow of his public denunciation by the regime, and the masterpiece was not performed until 1955, after Stalin’s death.

Shostakovich was censured in Soviet newspaper Pravda – possibly by Stalin himself – while he was composing his radical Fourth Symphony, in January 1936. The composer bravely pressed on with the composition, though withdrew its premiere. When the symphony was finally performed 25 years later, Shostakovich reportedly said: `I think . . . in some ways . . . my Fourth is better than the symphonies that came after.’

Performers
Philharmonia Orchestra
Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor
James Ehnes violin

Repertoire
Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No.1
Interval
Shostakovich: Symphony No.4

Source