RCM Symphony Orchestra: Petrenko Conducts Shostakovich

Update: Cancelled

Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko conducts the RCM Symphony Orchestra in Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony, which the composer described as a ‘poem of suffering’ in its depiction of the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942.

The vast opening movement and terrifying denouement suggest a composer railing against the huge Soviet losses in the Second World War, despite the victory at Stalingrad and the anticipated optimism of the work. It fell out of favour a few years after its premiere, deemed by the authorities as counter revolutionary.

Programme

Mahler Totenfeier
Shostakovich Symphony no 8 in C minor Op. 65

Performers

Vasily Petrenko conductor
RCM Symphony Orchestra