Dmitri Shostakovich, a famous Soviet composer, was described in 1959 as a small, grey-haired man with a narrow face and nervously darting eyes, who spoke fast but haltingly.
Performer Biography
Emmanuelle Bertrand, the cellist on this recording, was voted Artist of the Year 2011 by listeners of France Musique and readers of Diapason, and won a Victoire de la Musique in 2002.
Recording & Production
The Cello Concerto was recorded in January 2012 at BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff, while the Sonata and Moderato were recorded in March 2012 at Teldex Studio Berlin.
Compositional Technique
The First Cello Concerto features a four-note musical monogram (D-E flat-C-B natural, or D-Es-C-H in German notation) that represents Shostakovich's initials and serves as a leitmotif throughout all movements.
Historical Context
Shostakovich's opera, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, initially received unanimous acclaim in 1934, but two years later, Stalin withdrew his favor, leading to a devastating article in Pravda titled 'Muddle instead of music'.
Composition History
Shostakovich's First Cello Concerto was written in the late summer of 1959 for Mstislav Rostropovich, an outstanding cellist who had already gained a worldwide reputation.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The Soviet dictatorship, particularly under Stalin, inadvertently turned Shostakovich into a master of dissimulation, bitter irony, and cryptic allusion in his musical language.
