Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

Featuring

Neeme Järvi
Lydia Mordkovitch
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Dmitri Shostakovich

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Compositional Technique

The First Violin Concerto includes an epigrammatic motif that is a near-relative of DSCH (D, E flat, C, B), which Shostakovich used as his musical monogram in other works.

Performer Biography

Neeme Järvi, the conductor on this album, is the head of a musical dynasty and has an impressive discography of more than 450 recordings.

Performer Biography

Lydia Mordkovitch's recording of the Shostakovich violin concertos for Chandos won a Gramophone Award and a Diapason d'Or.

Historical Context

The premiere of Shostakovich's First Violin Concerto was delayed for over seven years due to a virtual ban on serious instrumental music following the notorious Zhdanov Conference and Party Decree of 1948.

Composer Biography

Shostakovich's Second Violin Concerto, completed in May 1967, was intended as a 60th birthday present for David Oistrakh, but a miscalculation meant it was ready a year too soon.

Composition History

Shostakovich completed his First Violin Concerto in 1948 and dedicated it to the great Russian violinist David Oistrakh, for whom it was written.

Performer Biography

Lydia Mordkovitch, the violinist on this recording, was a master pupil of and assistant to David Oistrakh, the dedicatee of both Shostakovich violin concertos.