Santtu conducts Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich | Philharmonia Orchestra

Charismatic soloist Randall Goosby joins us in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto.

Tchaikovsky wrote his captivating Violin Concerto on holiday by Lake Geneva with the young student he hoped would premiere it. Tonight it is in the hands of brilliant American violinist Randall Goosby. A warm and approachable communicator, acclaimed for his “lively, expansive” playing (The Guardian), he is fast becoming a favourite with audiences on this side of the Atlantic.

Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony dates from 1945, just after the end of the Second World War. The Soviet authorities were expecting a grand celebration of Russia’s victory. Instead Shostakovich came up with one of his most subversive and sardonic works. He abandons heroics for irreverent humour, and epic seriousness for Haydnesque simplicity and high spirits.

The concert opens with the distant horn-calls of Sibelius’s Karelia Suite. Two short cheerful, martial movements frame a peaceful Ballade featuring gorgeous woodwind solos.