VFO / TEODOR CURRENTZIS / ALEXANDRE KANTOROW

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A monumental work whose dimensions and intentions were not understood at the time of its premiere in 1859, Brahms’s First Concerto remains a work apart in the concerto landscape. Initially intended as a symphony in the tradition of Beethoven and Schumann, the piano gradually imposed itself as a necessity for the orchestration, which reached a degree of osmosis rarely achieved at a time when the main interest of the concertante form was to showcase a certain form of instrumental virtuosity. Paradoxically, it was undoubtedly this formal maturity that disconcerted the public when the work was first performed. With a monumental introduction that delays the soloist’s entrance by almost 5 minutes, a delicate Adagio featuring muted horns, and developing variations in the Finale (an exercise in which Brahms would become a great specialist over the years), the work is a whirlwind of new ideas, and the young Brahms’ real first step into the pantheon of giants.

There has been much speculation about the context in which Shostakovich composed his Fifth Symphony, the composer’s relations with the Stalinist regime being at their worst following the cancellation of his Fourth Symphony and his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Beyond the myth, this masterpiece of Shostakovich’s symphonic output is to be appreciated for its Mahlerian influences, sense of tragedy and intelligent orchestration, propelling the work into the pantheon of the great symphonies of the last century – and beyond.