Britten & Shostakovich

Benjamin Britten was present in Barcelona in 1936 when Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto was premiered. Britten was instantly captivated and called the work a miracle, and he was inspired to compose a violin concerto himself. It was a turbulent time. There was civil war in Spain, and Europe was on the brink of World War 2, and to avoid military service Britten fled to the USA. There he completed his violin concerto in 1939. The violin is like a lonely soldier caught in the war machine, and the whole work is a kaleidoscopic journey through styles, yet unmistakably Britten. After the war, incidentally, Britten became good friends with Shostakovich, who is also on the programme this evening. They did not speak the same language and needed an interpreter when they met, but musically they inspired each other. Shostakovich wrote his Fifth Symphony in 1937, and it was created almost in fear of Stalin’s regime. The concert opens with the Norwegian Arne Nordheim’s slow and heartfelt work Nachruf for strings. Nachruf means obituary or tribute in German, and the music is described as an elegy.

• Dirigent: Vitali Aleksenook
• Baiba Skrideviolin

LISTEN TO MUSIC FROM THE CONCERT