Shostakovich: Cello Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

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Release Date: 8th Jul 2013
Catalogue No: 9413
Label: Brilliant Classics
Length: 64 minutes

Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 107

Work length28:29

$6.00

$7.75

Alexander Ivashkin (cello)
Moscow Symphony Orchestra
Valery Polyansky
Recorded: 1997

I. Allegretto

Track length6:15

$1.00

$1.30

II. Moderato

Track length11:33

$3.00

$3.85

III. Cadenza

Track length5:52

$1.00

$1.30

IV. Allegro con moto

Track length4:49

$1.00

$1.30

Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 126

Work length36:22

$9.00

$11.60

Alexander Ivashkin (cello)
Moscow Symphony Orchestra
Valery Polyansky
Recorded: 1997

I. Largo

Track length15:44

$4.00

$5.15

II. Scherzo: Allegretto

Track length4:20

$1.00

$1.30

III. Finale: Allegretto

Track length16:18

$4.00

$5.15

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About

Dmitri Shostakovich spent 20 years composing under the threatening and often stifling influence of Stalin’s regime. The dictator’s death in March 1953 (on the same day as Sergei Prokofiev’s) led to a feeling of liberation that spread throughout the Soviet Union; this newfound freedom began to manifest itself in Shostakovich’s music.

The first movement of Cello Concerto No.1 (1959) is based on the composer’s own DSCH motif and is succeeded by a folk‐infused second movement, followed by a substantial cadenza for the soloist and an exhilarating dance finale. Cello Concerto No.2 (1966) could not be more different, beginning with a sombre Largo with a modal or oriental flavour, after which the eerie glissandi of the second movement give way to an Allegretto finale, which focuses on the combat between the horns and side drum. This movement contains a distinctive tapping motif that many have interpreted to be symbolic of the clicking medical equipment used during the composer’s treatment for a heart condition.

Alexander Ivashkin, encouraged to become a solo cellist by the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich, has performed all over the world alongside a variety of established artists and orchestras. He is also in constant demand as a conductor and is currently the Director of Performance Studies at Goldsmiths College, University of London.

Shostakovich: Cello Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

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