Bartók and Shostakovich: From the East

Written in 1943, Shostakovich publicly described his Eighth Symphony as ‘an attempt to reflect the terrible tragedy of war’. In 1939, Bartók was equally fearful for the state of Europe. His rhapsodic Violin Concerto – performed here by master violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann – is laced with folk-like calls from a homeland he feared would soon be unrecognisable.