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Cover: Dmitri Shostakovich – Violin Concertos Nos 1 & 2

Dmitri Shostakovich

Violin Concertos Nos 1 & 2

Christian Tetzlaff, violin
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
John Storgårds, conductor

ODE 1239-2 · CD · September 2014

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Track listing

7 tracks · 68:09

Listen to samples on selected tracks.

Dmitri Shostakovich

  1. Violin Concerto No 1 36:08
  2. 1 Nocturne 11:01
  3. 2 Scherzo 6:41
  4. 3 Passacaglia 13:24
  5. 4 Burlesque 5:02
  6. Violin Concerto No 2 32:01
  7. 5 Moderato 13:50
  8. 6 Adagio 10:09
  9. 7 Adagio - Allegro 8:02

About this recording

Ondine's successful partnership with violinist Christian Tetzlaff continues with a new release. The new recording contains the two Violin Concertos by Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975), two powerful works by the composer originally written for David Oistrakh.

Christian Tetzlaff has been considered as one of the world's leading international violinists for many years, and still maintains a most extensive performing schedule. Musical America named him "Instrumentalist of the Year" in 2005 and his recording of the violin concertos by Mendelssohn and Schumann, released on Ondine in 2011 (ODE 1195-2), received the "Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik". Tetzlaff's recording of the Mozart Violin Sonatas (ODE 1204-2) was chosen Gramophone Magazine's Editor's Choice and Recording of the Month by the BBC Music Magazine. Tetzlaff's previous release on Ondine featuring the Schumann Violin Sonatas (ODE 1205-2) was also chosen Disc of the Month by the Gramophone Magazine.

The two Violin Concertos by Shostakovich, written in the 1940s and 60s, belong to the composer's most powerful and most personal works, yet they are very much different from each other. Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 was written during a wave of Anti-Semitism in Soviet Union and premiered only after Stalin's death. Violin Concerto No. 2 is a grand example of Shostakovich's late period including quotes from Shostakovich's earlier works. David Oistrakh described the concertos: "I have played Shostakovich's magnificent Violin Concertos in many countries with the greatest pleasure. But they really are very different from one another: I would be hard put to find anything that they have musically in common."

Press

John Storgårds and the Helsinki Philharmonic are exceptionally responsive partners in this vivid recording. They draw out all the evocative colours from Shostakovich's orchestration (...). The Cadenza is expertly handled, Tetzlaff negotiating the difficult transitions in tempo with complete conviction and technical brilliance. Tetzlaff's stoicism, clarity of vision and architectural mastery pay even greater dividends in the more emotionally elusive Second Concerto. The longish first movement can sometimes sound discursive and lacking in direction. Yet Tetzlaff and Storgårds keep a tight grip on proceedings, building inexorably to a frenzied climax in the middle section.

Performance: **/***, Recording: **

Erik Levi, BBC Music Magazine, January 2015

Warmy recommended.

David Gutman, Gramophone Magazine, November 2014

The artists

Christian Tetzlaff

Christian Tetzlaff has been one of the most sought-after violinists and exciting musicians on the classical music scene for many years. “The greatest performance of the work I’ve ever heard,” Tim Ashley wrote in the Guardian about his interpretation of the Beethoven Violin Concerto with Daniel Harding. In the Frankfurter Rundschau Hans-Klaus Jungheinrich called it virtually a “rediscovery” of this frequently played work.

Full biography

Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the first professional symphony orchestra to be founded in the Nordic countries (1882), has grown from a band of 36 players to an orchestra of 102 regular members.

Full biography

Also recommended

Mendelssohn & Schumann

Violin Concertos

Christian Tetzlaff, violin · Frankfurt RSO · Paavo Järvi, conductor

ODE 1195-2 · CD · Oct 2011

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