Shostakovich

[Marie Brown]

Friday night I'm going to hear a performance of "the" Shostakovich Violin Concerto. Knowing that my ears need a little pre-stretching, I checked out a CD from the library. Now I see that Shostakovich actually wrote two concerti for David Oistrakh.

The online concert announcement doesn't specify which concerto. I can think of many possible reasons for this. Some are good, some bad. The recording I have is of Concerto #1. Is this one more commonly played? What's the story on Concerto #2?

[Mu0n]

"the" Shostakovich v-concerto is the first. The only meager bit of information I can add is that his first cello concerto (dedicated to none other than Rostropovich) was modelled after the first violin concerto, while the 2nd violon concerto was modelled after the 2nd cello one.

I think what makes the first one outstanding (that's my experience of people's reaction to it anyway) is the passacaglia and the cadenza which expresses a visceral sense of oppression, pressure and fear. Quite a lot of Mitya's (Dmitri Dmitriyevitch Shostakovich) music will express some form of this, but you have an exquisitely fine example of it in that concerto.

[Kabal]

You gotta peek around the website:

Thomas Dausgaard, conductor

Elisa Barston, violin

GLINKA Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla

SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 99

1. Nocturne (Moderato)

II. Scherzo (Allegro)

III. Passacaglia (Andante)

IV. Burlesca (Allegro con brio)

Elisa Barston

[Jane]

Oooohhh Op 99!!

Wasn't it renumbered 77 once it came out into the open and got catalogued into chronological order!

Jane

[SteveLaBonne]

Dausgaard is a wonderful conductor. I once heard him make the Albany (NY) Symphony sound about three times as good as it ever has before or since. His Nielsen Third was thrilling.

[K544]

Jane:

You are right. My Russian edition of the piece shows the opus number as 77.