Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, Arabella Steinbacher

Michael Sanderling - conductor
Arabella Steinbacher - violin

Tchaikovsky - Polonaise from Eugene Onegin
Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto
Shostakovich - Symphony No. 5

Tchaikovsky’s opener to Act III of Eugene Onegin ensures a grand prelude to the first Nottingham visit by German violinist Arabella Steinbacher. Praised by the New York Times for her “finely polished technique” she’s one of the leading virtuosos of our time. Writing his Violin Concerto on the shores of Lake Geneva proved to be the perfect antidote to the break-up of Tchaikovsky’s marriage, evident in the soaring lyricism and bustling finale.

Shostakovich lived much of his life under the oppressive Soviet regime of Joseph Stalin. The official censuring of his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk led Shostakovich to fear for his future to withdraw his Fourth Symphony. His Fifth Symphony, though, was an adept escape act, on the surface a dutiful piece ending in triumph, but which spoke volumes about human suffering and endurance.