St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra

Shostakovich’s music for an unconventional stage production of Hamlet was a product of the exciting artistic ferment that followed the Russian Revolution. Dramatically cogent and powerful music sits alongside more satirical and light hearted numbers in this suite from the full score. Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto set the pattern for many future pieces with its dramatic confrontation between heroic soloist and eloquent orchestra. Shostakovich sidestepped the expectations of the Soviet establishment with his Ninth symphony. Expecting a triumphant epic to celebrate the end of the war, what the composer described as the ‘light and sunny mood’ of this short five movement piece nonplussed the government.