United Kingdom Shostakovich: Daniel Müller-Schott (cellist), Royal Scottish Nationwide Orchestra / Thomas Søndergård (conductor). Glasgow Royal Live performance Corridor, 7.6.2025. (GT)
Shostakovich – Festive Overture in A significant, Op.96; Cello Concerto No.2 in G main, Op.126; Symphony No.11 in G minor, Op.103 ‘1905’
Following the latest Shostakovich Competition in Leipzig, it was ironic that my first live performance again dwelling could be of Shostakovich. But, Scotland has lengthy had an affiliation along with his music, for it was in Edinburgh that his Eighth Symphony was given its UK premiere when Mravinsky introduced the Leningrad Philharmonic to the 1960 Worldwide Competition. Two years later, the composer himself, collectively along with his son, Maxim, attended the Competition when his music was featured. A number of of the symphonies have been carried out along with chamber recitals of his music, and notably the Scottish composer Ronald Stevenson wrote a solo piano work ‘Passacaglia on DSCH’ which was introduced to Shostakovich.
The reference to Shostakovich in Scotland continued when the then Scottish Nationwide Orchestra was led by Neemi Järvi, who launched many lesser-known items by Shostakovich to audiences and recorded them, and by Alexander Lazarev who programmed all of the fifteen symphonies and recorded a number of of them together with the Eleventh Symphony. The Scottish public have proven their assist for Shostakovich whether or not or not it’s his music for jazz, string quartets or the good symphonies. Certainly, it was with the Eleventh Symphony that Thomas Søndergård made his debut right here in 2009, and which led to him being requested to turn out to be the Assistant Conductor of the Royal Scottish Nationwide Orchestra.
The transient Festive Overture supplied a brightly optimistic begin and mirrored a interval of richly veined maturity by the composer, all elements of the orchestra have been capable of present their mastery and polish, emphasising their affinity with this repertoire. The Second Cello Concerto lacks the introspective and exploring qualities of the composer’s First Concerto for this instrument, but there are current a few of the quirky and extra vibrant facets of his creativity within the mid-sixties. Within the Largo Mϋller-Schott opened pensively earlier than joined by the low strings; the cadenza was excellent earlier than the dialogue with the xylophone and the later reprise of the primary concept was shattered by the percussion. The spotlight of the second motion (Allegretto) have been the bizarrely comical citations of an Odessa avenue track ‘Bubliki’. The finale (Allegretto) highlighted by the unusual cadenza with the side-drum emphasised the weirdness of the work because the orchestra joined in with fanfares on the brass and harp glissandos. Ever so slowly, the music started to vanish with Mϋller-Schott enjoying on the lowest observe in opposition to the percussion evincing a tick-tock – as if time is passing by. The German cellist performed an encore – the Gigue from Bach’s Cello Suite No.3.
In the primary work of the night, the Eleventh Symphony opened (Adagio) with protracted passages intoning a number of revolutionary songs, performed at a gradual martial tempo, and with color, most notably voiced on the flute of Katherine Bryan with the track ‘Hear,’ and later by the revolutionary track ‘Prisoner’ heard on the double bass of Nikolai Naumov. All through the motion, the strain of the rising menace of the echoing motifs was repeatedly heard on the timpani.
The second motion (Allegro) relies on the composer’s ‘Ten Choral Poems primarily based on Revolutionary Texts’, most importantly, ‘O thou, our Tsar, father’, and ‘Naked your Heads’ intoned by the piccolo of Janet Richardson, and Bryan on the flute bringing nice unhappiness and mourning. But the tone shortly modified with the violent transformation by the strings and the brass, particularly the trombones, and the tuba, and because the vehemence reached its peak, the tempo switched to a pianissimo on the strings. One of many traits of the composer which I seen in Leipzig lately was the superb means of Shostakovich to remodel the temper of the symphony in his orchestral canvas, and right here underneath Søndergård’s course, the best of musical expression was evinced revealing the RSNO can rival the best European ensembles.
The third motion (Adagio) echoes the deep mourning for these fallen within the demonstration with the track ‘You fell as victims’ heard clearly within the texture of the strings and woodwind enjoying. An indication of the composer’s sensible expression was the part performed solely by the violas that impelled a recent upsurge within the rigidity. The tempo shortly modified within the fourth motion (Allegro non troppo) with an impressive passage heard on the celesta of Lynda Cochrane, and the intonation of the songs ‘Rage, thee tyrants’. The well-known ‘Varshavyanka’ was adopted lastly by the track ‘Sparks’ earlier than the movingly emotional climax with the ringing of the church bells from Simon Lowden introduced a vivid end result to this transferring symphony. Usually, this work is dismissed as ‘cinematic’ but right here the Danish conductor revealed it as a masterpiece worthy of better recognition. This was a triumphant near the orchestra’s season and augurs effectively for subsequent season when it’s going to open with Mahler’s Seventh Symphony.
Gregor Tassie
Featured Picture: Thomas Søndergård conducts the RSNO © Sally Jubb
