- Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 77
- Concerto for Orchestra
- Mayuko Katsumura
- Enrico Marconi
The passionate duo, violinist Mayuko Katsumura and conductor Enrico Marconi, join the Philharmonia Orchestra in a programme featuring two gems of the symphonic repertoire.
Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 was composed during the post-war years in Soviet Russia (1947-48) but, due to severe censorship at that time, it was not performed until 1955. Op. 77, along with his Tenth Symphony, is considered to be his most major accomplishment, which adopts a four-movement symphonic structure.
Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra is a masterpiece in a league of its own. Premièred on 1st December 1944, the oeuvre is developed in five-movements. The composer named it a ‘Concerto’ (rather than a symphony) to underline the virtuosic way in which every section of the orchestra is treated, alternating their role from ‘soloist’ to ensemble in turn.