Classical Hour
Klaus Mäkelä Dmitri Shostakovich

In 1935, Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) started work on his fourth symphony, stylistically his most audacious yet. It was completed the following year, but before it could be premiered Shostakovich was denounced by the party newspaper Pravda, no doubt on the direct orders of Stalin. The Symphony No. 4 was withdrawn, and in his next symphony Shostakovich chose a much more conservative approach. With his Symphony No. 5 (1937) the authorities’ criticism abated, and the new symphony was also a triumphal and lasting public success.

The program at this concert is different from that played earlier on the same evening. Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, with soloist Leif Ove Andsnes, will only be played at the concert at 19:00