Alsop conducts Britten and Shostakovich

Marin Alsop conducts three contrasting works written under the shadow of war and oppression. 

Tonight’s concert begins in a tender and dreamy mood, as solo woodwinds sing the opening phrases of Samuel Barber’s Second Essay. Darker brass and timpani hint at looming violence – Barber was writing in 1942 – but sunshine soon banishes the clouds in this gem of American Romanticism. 

A committed pacifist, Benjamin Britten moved to the United States in 1939 to escape the conflict in Europe and the ordeal of keeping his sexuality hidden. It was there, in a new environment of creativity, friendship and acceptance, that he composed his Violin Concerto. Arabella Steinbacher brings her expertise in 20th-century repertoire, and her “finely polished technique and… beautifully varied palette of timbres” (The New York Times) to this expressive and emotionally complex work.  

The possible hidden meanings within Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, composed under political pressure from Stalin’s regime, have long fascinated listeners. There are generous helpings of spectacle along the road to the symphony’s triumphant ending – but is the triumph genuine or ironic? In the midst of the Soviet heroism and drama lies the hushed, almost religious contemplation of the third movement, the tender heart of the symphony that moved the audience to tears at its 1937 premiere.

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