Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5

Written in 1937, in the midst of Stalin’s cruel artistic purges, Shostakovich’s Fifth shows little of the terrible strain the composer and his compatriots felt. The government defined truth and beauty, and the consequences of coloring outside those lines were dire. Seemingly on a whim, an artist’s work could be condemned, and the artist himself banished. Despite the overriding climate of fear, his Fifth was a triumph; the Leningrad premiere received an ovation that lasted more than half an hour. It remains an extraordinary tribute to inspiration that defies restraint.

Schumann wrote his Cello Concerto in just two weeks, in a blaze of creative energy that would prove his last before he succumbed to depression and death. With its haunting melodies and thrilling finale, this triumphant work betrays none of the pain this troubled composer felt.

This journey of genius begins with a new work from one of today’s most acclaimed composers, hailed as a “post-millennial Mozart” (Time Out New York). Leading this celebration of genius is “an artist who is hailed as both “a musician of great refinement and sophistication” (The Times, London)—Nathalie Stutzmann.