Russian Roots

Hear from the teenage Shostakovich in this all-Russian programme with conductor Gianandrea Noseda.

Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto opens quietly enough, but this simple and beguiling beginning quickly gives way what is in fact one of the most technically demanding concertos in the classical piano repertoire. Its lush and romantic elegance is followed by Balakirev’s Islamey, a piece of large-scale fantasy music inspired by a trip to Caucasus, the mountainous area which joins Europe and Asia.

Shostakovich wrote his first symphony when he was just 18. Already a remarkably experienced composer, the young Dimtri incorporates aspects of Mahler and Prokofiev in this musical first salvo from the teenager who would become one of music’s biggest symphonists.