Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat; Cello Concerto No. 2 in G
Published:
COMPOSERS: Shostakovich
LABELS: Virgin
WORKS: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat; Cello Concerto No. 2 in G
PERFORMER: Truls Mørk (cello); London Philharmonic/Mariss Jansons
CATALOGUE NO: VC 5 45145 2 DDD
Mørk and Jansons attack the First Concerto with just the requisite bite and drive, making for urgent outer movements and a genuinely dreamlike second. Mørk slices the aggressive repeated notes in the main theme sharper and sharper under the microphone’s magnified ear, but his articulation in the running passages is stunning. The Second is a murky and troubling work, and the sense of blind wandering is only heightened in this reading. Even the Scherzo has a leaden heart. Helen Wallace
Authors
Helen Wallace is the Artistic and Executive Director of Kings Place, a concert hall in King's Cross, London, and the former editor of BBC Music Magazine and The Strad Magazine.