IDAGIO | Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 - Symphony No. 9 - Liadov: Baba Yaga - A Musical Snuffbox

Featuring

Gerard Schwarz
Lynn Harrell
Seattle Symphony
Dmitri Shostakovich
Anatoly Lyadov

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Compositional Technique

In Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1, the composer uses his musical signature DSCH (D, E-flat, C, B-natural) over 300 times, often under seemingly jocular music.

Performer Biography

Lynn Harrell, the cellist on this recording, plays a 1720 Montagnana cello.

Historical Context

Composer Dmitri Shostakovich lived in fear during the Stalinist Soviet Union, keeping a packed suitcase under his bed in case the KGB took him away.

Composer Biography

Anatol Liadov, a Russian composer, was dismissed from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory for indolence and failing to attend classes, despite his talent.

Interpretation

The conductor Kurt Sanderling, a close friend of Shostakovich, conveyed the 'cold and frightening' atmosphere of the Cello Concerto's second movement by showing the orchestra a wide-eyed, hunched-shouldered facial expression.

Composition History

Shostakovich's Symphony No. 9 was initially conceived as a grandiose victory celebration after World War II, but he recast it on a modest scale to avoid 'immodest analogies' to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Anatol Liadov, a Russian composer, believed 'Art is the realm of the non-existent' and was happiest composing works based on legends, dragons, and other unreal elements.