Archive: Tchaikovsky & Shostakovich
Salzburg Großes Festspielhaus Großes Festspielhaus
© Sim Canetty-Clarke
© Dieter Nagl
Salzburg Großes Festspielhaus Großes Festspielhaus
© Sim Canetty-Clarke
© Dieter Nagl
When he played his First Piano Concerto to his friend Nikolai Rubinstein, his intended soloist for the premiere, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was expecting a triumph – but what he got was a devastating rebuff. Dmitri Shostakovich’s Fifth seems to end in bombastic triumph with kettledrums and trumpets, but the celebration is a facade. The composer felt forced to erect it by Communist apparatchiks, keeping his true feelings well hidden behind. Both works have long been central to the most popular Russian repertoire. A job for maestros, with Yutaka Sado at the podium and the British virtuoso Stephen Hough on piano.
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