Much of Shostakovich’s extraordinary output was profoundly marked by politics and the judgements of censors. The composer was on relatively safe ground when he wrote his Four Romances on Poems by Pushkin to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Russian poet’s death. Nevertheless, the first song, Rebirth, makes Pushkin’s battles with the critics very much the composer’s own. There are strong links between the songs and Shostakovich’s monumental Fifth Symphony, one of the greatest and most powerful of twentieth-century orchestral works. The great American cellist Alisa Weilerstein performs Shostakovich’s Second Cello Concerto with the Hallé.
Shostakovich: Four Romances on Poems by Pushkin Op.46
James Platt (bass)
Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No.1 in E flat, Op.107
Alisa Weilerstein (cello)
Shostakovich: Symphony No.5 in D minor, Op.47
The Hallé Orchestra
Mark Elder (conductor)
RTÉ lyric fm, Wednesday 21st February, 1pm-4pm