Shostakovich and Schumann

Robert Schumann’s Second Symphony encompasses everything from quiet reflection to exuberant energy and determination, ultimately arriving at a powerful, life-affirming finale. It is bright, forward-looking music – a sonic triumph over Schumann’s personal doubts and melancholy.

The concert opens with Olivier Messiaen’s Les offrandes oubliées (The Forgotten Offerings), subtitled méditation symphonique. The slow opening gives way to a fast central section full of energy, before the music once again slows. In the extremely slow conclusion, the strings rise towards ever higher spheres. The static chords and the slow tempo offer us Messiaen’s own deeply personal glimpse of eternity.

Between these, we hear Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto, written for the legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. The soloist remains constantly at the centre, yet in a charged interplay with the orchestra. The compelling, march-like energy has an almost lightness, yet with an underlying bitter irony. The soloist is the distinguished Austrian cellist Julia Hagen, who, with her stage warmth and musical vitality, has established herself as one of the most prominent cellists of her generation.

The orchestra is led by the young American conductor Sasha Scolnik-Brower, who here makes his debut with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. He is currently a Bernard Haitink Conducting Fellow with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, where he works closely with Sir Simon Rattle and leads various projects and concerts. In recent years, he has made notable debuts with several leading European orchestras.