Stalin's death in 1953 was the biggest step towards Shostakovich's restoration as a creative artist – finally he could express himself freely! This transition was marked by his 10th Symphony ...

The two-minute rest for the soloist at the beginning of the Brahms Violin Concerto is no idle wait. Battle is imminent. Journeying to the sunny theme of the opening movement, the violinist must first ...

The BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Elim Chan in Shostakovich's symphonic masterpiece, Ogonek's sparkling Moondog, and Britten's playful Piano Concerto with Ben Grosvenor. Show more The BBC ...

As seasoned collectors will know, attitudes to the Shostakovich symphonies have tended to polarize in recent years and competing notions of authenticity are well-nigh impossible to square. In the blue ...

Symphonies Nos 9, 10 and 11 created little interest, No 12 (dedicated to the memory of Lenin) a little more, but with his Symphony No 13, Shostakovich again met with official criticism, this time from ...

In between was the New York premiere of John Corigliano’s Triathalon, a saxophone concerto that featured soloist Timothy ...

Laid out in four connected movements, the Eleventh, unusually for Shostakovich, draws upon several revolutionary songs and ...