JS Bach Brandenburg Concerto No.3
Beethoven Violin Concerto
Shostakovich Symphony No.6
Kirill Karabits Conductor
Simone Lamsma Violin
The Third Brandenburg Concerto stands apart from its five siblings in not having a solo group set against the orchestra. Instead, it has nine string players over a continuo bass – three violins, three violas, and three cellos – all of whom become soloists in their turn in a remarkably rich and complex string texture full of contrapuntal genius and energetic flow.
Though now firmly established as one of the most beloved violin concertos in the repertoire, Beethoven’s concerto entered the world quite inauspiciously. The score was completed in great haste only two days before the premiere, and violinist Franz Clement supposedly sight-read it without a single rehearsal. Only when the 13-year old virtuoso Joseph Joachim played it in London in 1844, under the baton of Mendelssohn, did the piece begin to catch on with audiences.
Shostakovich’s Sixth Symphony is, almost inevitably, a complete contrast to the Fifth. Laid out in an unusual pattern of just three movements, with a large, sombre first movement followed by two short ones – a breezy scherzo and a circus-like finale, it is a personal work, reflecting not only the difficult and trying times in which Shostakovich lived and worked, but also the resilience and strength of his character.
Lighthouse
21 Kingland Road
Poole
Dorset
BH15 1UG
Tel: +44 (0)844 4068666
