Classical CD

Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos 1 and 2; Romance from the Gadfly

4 out of 5 4

The First Violin Concerto is one of the pieces that seem to be benefitting from the extra attention of the Shostakovich centenary celebrations, though that does not make it any easier a piece to play. Musically and technically it remains elusive. It's a score that Shostakovich withheld until Stalin was dead, and its brooding first movement, demonic scherzo and portentous passacaglia, contrasting sharply with the forced high spirits of the finale, seem to demand extra-musical explanation. Daniel Hope's impressive performance, with the composer's son Maxim conducting, can't explain that central enigma, but he certainly extracts the last drop of expressive weight out of its ideas. Hope's technique is unflashily impeccable too, and he is equally at home in the sparer world of the Second Concerto, finished 19 years later in 1967. Like the First it was dedicated to David Oistrakh and was one of the pieces that introduced the haunted and savagely acerbic world of Shostakovich's late music in which not a note is wasted.

Today's best video

Latest reviews

Today in pictures