Dmitri Shostakovich: Concerto No.1 for Violoncello & Orchestra
Carl Nielsen: Symphony No. 2 (The Four Temperaments)

The “Iron Man” of the cello repertoire, Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No.1, combines powerful musical ideas with extraordinary virtuoso writing for the solo instrument. The work was written specifically for the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich and has been recorded by iconic cellists like Raphael Wallfisch, Misha Maisky and Yo Yo Ma, as well as legends on the rise like Sheku Kanneh-Mason and our special guest Zlatomir Fung. Just 24 years old, the American cellist was the youngest musician ever to win First Prize at the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition and the first American to do it in four decades. This work alone is worth the price of admission, but we’re not done there.

The evening also includes a symphonic version of a BuzzFeed “What’s Your Personality?” quiz. Nielsen’s Symphony No. 2, also called, The Four Temperaments, was inspired by a painting Denmark’s Greatest Composer saw in a village pub depicting the four temperaments – Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric, and Melancholic – considered to be the human personality types in medieval times.

CONCERT PROGRAM

Pre-Concert Performance

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Sonata No.2
Yanzhi Zhang, piano

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