Shostakovich was ailing when he wrote the Second Cello Concerto in 1966 and retired from public performances after suffering a heart attack in May of that year.
Compositional Technique
Both of Shostakovich's cello concertos are sparsely orchestrated, especially the First, which features brass reduced to a single horn and only a celesta for percussion besides timpani.
Composition History
Dmitri Shostakovich composed two cello concertos within seven years for the same virtuoso performer, Mstislav Rostropovich.
Recording & Production
On this album, the First Cello Concerto was recorded in a studio, while the Second Cello Concerto was recorded live in concert in the same hall later the same week.
Interpretation
Alisa Weilerstein, the cellist on this recording, was advised by Mstislav Rostropovich that emotions in Shostakovich's music should never be 'direct' or 'heart on sleeve'.
Composition History
Shostakovich originally conceived his Second Cello Concerto as a symphony before gradually developing a prominent solo cello part.
Compositional Technique
The scherzo of the Second Cello Concerto is based on a popular Odessa street song called 'Come Buy My Bagels,' which was sung by both street vendors and prostitutes.
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