Vladivostok, Primorsky Stage, Great Hall

Shchedrin. Shostakovich

Symphony concert


PERFORMERS:
The Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage
Conductor: Shizuo Z Kuwahara

PROGRAMME:
Rodion Shchedrin
The solemn overture

Maurice Ravel
Ma Mère l'Oye

Dmitri Shostakovich
Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93

About the Concert

Eight years separate this symphony from its predecessor, the Ninth. For Shostakovich this was an unusually long break: it was, of course, caused by the notorious Party resoloution of 10 February 1948, which labelled Shostakovich's music as "anti-proletarian formalism". By the summer of 1953, however, Shostakovich, already sensing an air of freedom, again turned to his favourite genre. The Tenth Symphony, completed towards the end of October of that year, is autobiographical in the highest sense of the word.The gloomy subject of the introduction is the thematic "grain" from which, as out of the ground, germinate and grow melodic shoots and suckers. The waves of dynamic growth lead to a vast culmination. When the tension falls and relief ensues, the mood of the opening pages of the score returns. The second movement rushes past in a stupefying cruel whirlwind – one of the most "malevolent" scherzos in Shostakovich's symphonies. The third movement is the lyrical centre of the symphony, a concentration of the composer's profoundly personal opinions. It is no coincidence that the "monogram theme" D-Es-C-H (D. SCH – the initial letters of the composer's name and surname in German) is heard here for the first time. This symbolic motif binds the shape of the symphony as a whole.
The finale is preceded by a short introduction, the threads for which are drawn from the symphony's other movements... Initially childishly naive, the joyous music gradually develops "muscles", surrounded by sinister reminders of the Scherzo. And when the avalanche of the relentless, malicious onslaught threatens to swallow up the joy that has been attained, we hear the composer's angry cry of protest: at the culmination the same "monogram theme" D-Es-C-H is declaimed by the orchestra. And at the peak of the rejoicing, like the voice of fate it intrudes once again, reminding us of the illusoriness of human happiness.
Iosif Raiskin

The title of Maurice Ravel's suite Ma Mère l'Oye coincides with the title of the famous anthology of tales by Charles Perrault. For a brief period, the composer transformed himself into a story-teller for the young children of his friends, the Godebskis, and for them he composed five pieces for piano for four hands. The opus was first presented to a wider audience by young pupils of the Paris Conservatoire – at the first concert of the Société musicale indépendante, one of the founders of which was Ravel himself. Soon, however, he submitted his suite to adults: he orchestrated it and subsequently expanded it for a ballet. The plots for the pieces were selected by the composer from French fairy tales from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Age category 6+

© 2016 – 2024
The Mariinsky Theatre
Primorsky Stage Information Service
+7 423 240 60 60
tickets-prim@mariinsky.ru
Any use or copying of site materials, design elements or layout is forbidden without the permission of the rightholder.

The highlighting of performances by age represents recommendations.

This highlighting is being used in accordance with Federal Law N436-FZ dated 29 December 2010 (edition dated 1 May 2019) "On the protection of children from information that may be harmful to their health"