NSO: Rachmaninov, Shostakovich

National Symphony Orchestra
Diego Matheuz conductor
Lise de la Salle piano 

Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2
Shostakovich Symphony No. 7, Leningrad

Concert estimated duration including interval: 135’

Teeming with heart-stopping melodies, romance pours out of every note of Rachmaninov’s vibrant Second Piano Concerto, Lise de la Salle the ‘wonderfully gifted’ (Gramophone) soloist.

Fifty years after his death, Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, Leningrad, remains a colossal work. An epic struggle against threatening darkness, it packs a gut-wrenching punch for our times. A stark warning to resist oppression that has never seemed more relevant.

Did you know?

Rachmaninov was an accomplished pianist, his large hands able to span 12 piano keys.  

His Second Piano Concerto achieved cinematic immortality when it was featured in David Lean’s 1948 film, Brief Encounter.

The young Shostakovich wanted to follow in Rachmaninov’s footsteps as a pianist and composer.

His Seventh Symphony was composed in Leningrad in 1941 during the relentless German siege of the city.

Listen out for…

The piano’s severe bell-like chords that begin Rachmaninov's concerto, and the ensuing cascade of themes passed between it and the orchestra. 

The sensual enchantment of his second movement, clarinet and flute introducing its aching melody before the piano spins it into diaphanous textures.

The contrasting themes – the piano’s insistent staccato rhythm and the lyrical  solo oboe and viola’s – of the finale.

The slow, insistent march that opens the Leningrad and ferments an explosive climax Shostakovich described as the ‘Invasion motif’.

The tragic tenor of the Adagio with weeping strings and flute solo (and duet) before it ends in a nightmarish lament.

The return of the Invasion motif in a finale that builds to thunderous defiance.

Presented by NCH