Santtu conducts the Leningrad Symphony

Programme

The first movement of Brahms’s Violin Concerto brims with melodies of such spontaneity and freshness that they almost feel improvised. The second opens with a gorgeously serene theme, played by the oboe and then taken up by the violin. And the third has a fiery Hungarian flavour, demanding the perfect balance of precision and freedom, energy and expressiveness from the soloist.

The story of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony is entwined with the 900-day siege of Leningrad (now St Petersburg) by Nazi forces. Half a million people died in the siege, and this powerful piece became a testament to them and a symbol of resistance to fascism and tyranny. At the heart of the first movement is a repeated snare-drum motif that grows ever louder and more oppressive. But Shostakovich never intended his music to be a literal representation of war – there’s beauty as well as suffering, light as well as terrible darkness, in this musical monument to the human spirit.

This concert is supported by Sir Sydney Lipworth QC and Lady Lipworth CBE

Unfortunately Nicola Benedetti is unwell and is unable to perform in this concert as originally advertised. We are very grateful to Vadim Gluzman for stepping in at short notice.