Václav Petr plays Shostakovich

12 fotografií

Alfred Schnittke: Polyphonic Tango
Dmitri Shostakovich: Cello concerto No. 2, Op. 126 
Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 2 in C major, 0p. 61

Václav Petr – violoncello
Marko Ivanović – conductor

The full set of symphonies by Miloslav Kabeláč, a leading light of Czech post-war music, conducted by Marko Ivanović represents one of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra’s most notable recording projects. The current chief conductor of the Janáček Opera in Brno will open the concert broadcast from Studio 1 with Polyphonic Tango by Alfred Schnittke.

Václav Petr plays Shostakovich, Marko Ivanović – conductor | Studio 1 ČRo, May 3, 2021|foto:Vojtěch Brtnický,Český rozhlas

One of the most significant Russian composers of the 2^nd half of the 20^th century made his name with “polystylistic composition”, typified by mixing musical styles from various epochs, avant-garde techniques and deliberately pretentious melodies, all of which will be on display in Schnittke’s interpretation of the tango. One of the composers who had a pronounced influence on Schnittke was Dmitri Shostakovich, whose dark and even bleak Cello Concerto No. 2, which unusually begins with a monologue by the solo instrument, was composed for Mstislav Rostropovich, one of the greatest cellists in history. For the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, this role will be taken by Václav Petr, one of the finest contemporary Czech cellists and cello concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. The evening will culminate with Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 2. The German Romantic composer started work on it in 1845, shortly after recovering from a nervous breakdown. Even though he sketched out the entire work in just one week, it took him almost a year to complete it.