Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No.1 was premiered seven years after its completion, following Stalin's death, by the great virtuoso David Oistrakh, to whom the work is dedicated.
Composer Biography
Alexander Glazunov, a composer and teacher, is often remembered for a drunken conducting incident at the premiere of Rachmaninov's First Symphony, but he also played a crucial role in the success of his student Shostakovich's First Symphony.
Performer Biography
Violinist Nicola Benedetti's encounter with Russian music began in her childhood at the Yehudi Menuhin School, where her teachers were Natasha Boyarsky and Lutsia Ibragimova.
Compositional Technique
Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No.1 includes the composer's musical signature, DSCH, which is heard in the soloist's cadenza.
Composition History
Shostakovich began his Violin Concerto No.1 in March 1948, just as culture secretary Zhdanov issued a decree against 'formalism' in music, leading to the work being completed and then shelved for seven years.
Historical Context
Only four decades separate Glazunov's Violin Concerto (1904) and Shostakovich's Violin Concerto (1947), but between them lie the Russian Revolution, Stalin's Terror, and the Second World War.
