Santtu conducts Shostakovich and Mendelssohn

The Philharmonia pairs Shostakovich’s extraordinary final symphony with the famous overture quoted in its first movement.

Is it because of a fascination with its driving rhythm, a childhood memory, or purely for fun, that Shostakovich uses the unmistakable Galop from Rossini’s William Tell overture in his last symphony? He wrote the symphony as a 65^th birthday present to himself, and originally intended it to be ‘cheerful’. But as with so much of his music, things soon take a darker turn. In an eerie finale to half a century as a master symphonist, the melody and harmony of the orchestra fade to leave woodblocks and tuned percussion evoking the clicks and bleeps of hospital machinery.

Completing this afternoon’s trio of masterpieces is Mendelssohn’s beloved Violin Concerto. Its heartfelt, singing melodies are in the hands of Arabella Steinbacher, one of today’s foremost violin soloists. The Guardian’s reviewer put her opinion simply: ‘What a player.’

This is the second of three Philharmonia concerts marking the 50^th anniversary of Shostakovich’s death. Look out for Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1 on 10 April, and artist William Kentridge’s take on his Symphony No. 10 on 24 April.