Latest news with #Shostakovich
Korea Herald
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Conducting across borders: Roderick Cox makes Asia debut with visionary Shostakovich performance
American conductor set to lead SPO in performing William Kentridge's 'Shostakovich 10: Oh To Believe in Another World' Roderick Cox, a rising American conductor based in Berlin, is set to make his long-anticipated Asia debut with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra on May 30, leading a performance of 'Shostakovich 10: Oh To Believe in Another World' — a visually reimagined rendition of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10 by renowned South African artist William Kentridge. Cox, making his first appearance in the region, was drawn to the project not only by his long-standing affinity for Shostakovich, but also by curiosity sparked by the interdisciplinary nature of the work. 'Sometimes one can be quite cautious when pairing a great symphony with something else — a piece of art that already stands powerfully on its own,' he said during an interview Tuesday at GS Arts Center in Seoul. 'But in this case, it looked very interesting, very new and something that could be very intriguing for our new audiences in 2025." While Cox has previously worked on programs that included video elements aimed at reaching younger listeners, this marks his first experience with a full-scale visual collaboration of its kind. Behind the orchestra, Kentridge's film — featuring cardboard sets, cut-out masks and stop-motion animation — creates a constructivist aesthetic that echoes the stark imagery of Stalinist Russia. 'I think it's fascinating when you can engage multiple senses — to hear and see simultaneously. Maybe it allows for deeper connections, especially for those already familiar with this work. I'm looking forward to exploring that shared experience with our audience,' Cox added. Still, Cox acknowledged with a laugh — and a note of concern — that the immersive visual setting might present an unusual challenge. 'I'm hoping that the video is not so interesting that it takes my focus off the actual music,' he said. 'Because performing Shostakovich's music requires such intensity, focus and concentration to really enter into this dark world the composer is conveying.' Cox's career took off after winning the 2018 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, one of the most prestigious honors for young conductors in the United States. The award provided him with international mentorship and the opportunity to expand his artistic horizons across Europe. He has since led performances with major orchestras and opera houses and is now the director of Opera National Montpellier Occitanie in France. Raised in Macon, Georgia, Cox first encountered classical music through public school and community programs at the age of 8. Initially planning to become a teacher, he became intrigued by conducting in high school after watching his instructors shape sound and guide ensembles with physical gestures. 'I remember thinking, 'I want to do that,'' he recalled. That early exposure gave him time to internalize the physical language of conducting before settling into fixed habits. 'Just like with an instrument, the earlier you start, the more natural it becomes.' He went on to study at Northwestern University, where two key mentors — Mallory Thompson and Victor Yampolsky — shaped his path. Yampolsky, in particular, encouraged him to take conducting seriously and pursue it professionally. Cox admitted that he was in a bubble while studying. Pointing out that the majority of his most influential teachers were female, he later found it surprising that there was an issue of a shortage of female conductors. Thompson, he recalled, always told him to never ever think he got or did not get an opportunity because of his identity. 'I think that sort of training at an early age really helped me not dismiss my identity or forget about it, but really focus on the music and the art and trying to be the best artist I can be,' he added. Cox later served as assistant conductor at the Minnesota Orchestra under music director Osmo Vanska, further refining his skills in front of a top-tier ensemble. Vansaka served as the music director of the SPO from 2020 to 2022. Having once received support from a local foundation when he chose to pursue music, Cox felt compelled to pay it forward. Nearly two decades later, he founded the Roderick Cox Music Initiative — a nonprofit that offers scholarships and mentorship to young musicians from historically underrepresented communities. 'It's about opening doors,' he says, 'for students who might not otherwise see a place for themselves in classical music.' gypark@
Scoop
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
New Zealand String Quartet And Orchestra Wellington To Present A Powerful Shostakovich Anniversary Concert
Two of Aotearoa's oldest classical music organisations, the New Zealand String Quartet (NZSQ) and Orchestra Wellington, are coming together to present the first event in a powerful four-part concert series, 'Shostakovich: UNPACKED,' commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of the composer, Dmitri Shostakovich. The series is presented by the NZSQ and will see the ensemble collaborate with a range of esteemed Wellington artists across four intimate gatherings. Orchestra Wellington will help launch the series with two concerts, hosted at Prefab Hall in Wellington, on Wednesday 9 July at 6:30pm and 8:30pm. Subsequent concerts in the series, spread over five months, will see the NZSQ musicians perform alongside the newly established Antipodes Quartet, the beloved Ghost Trio and celebrated pianist, Jian Liu. 'This significant anniversary has been in our diary for a long time and to celebrate it with our friends at Orchestra Wellington is truly special,' says Charlie Macfarlane, NZSQ General Manager. 'This collaboration will offer audiences a profound, immersive experience and a chance to explore how Shostakovich's music remains deeply relevant today.' Each concert programme features music by Shostakovich and New Zealand composers for a unique range of chamber ensembles. The series opener with Orchestra Wellington will feature Shostakovich's poignant 3rd String Quartet alongside his intensely felt Chamber Symphony, an adaptation of his powerful 8th String Quartet. This latter piece is regularly acknowledged as one of the most profound and intense experiences in classical music. Beyond Shostakovich, the evening will also 'unpack' the music of celebrated composers Alfred Schnittke and Tatiana Riabinkina, offering a fascinating dialogue between Shostakovich's legacy and the voices of contemporary artists in Aotearoa and beyond. Tickets for 'Shostakovich: UNPACKED | NZSQ + Orchestra Wellington' range from $15 to $55, with a special season pass available for all four concerts at $180 per person. Don't miss this unique opportunity to witness the powerful collaboration of the New Zealand String Quartet and Orchestra Wellington as they delve into the raw emotion and enduring significance of Dmitri Shostakovich's music. What: Shostakovich: UNPACKED | NZSQ + Orchestra Wellington When: Wednesday 9th July, 6:30 pm & 8:30 pm Where: Prefab Hall, 14 Jessie Street, Wellington Artists: New Zealand String Quartet + Orchestra Wellington Tickets: $15 - $55, Season Pass (all four concerts): $180
South China Morning Post
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Russia's Borodin Quartet to perform in Hong Kong on its 80th anniversary China tour
Russia's Borodin Quartet returns to Hong Kong this week with a programme that marks the chamber music ensemble's 80th anniversary. Comprising two violinists, a violist and a cellist, the quartet remains an authoritative interpreter of Dmitri Shostakovich's music. On May 16 the ensemble will perform the Russian composer's String Quartet No 1 in C major, Op 49, and on May 17, his Piano Quintet in G minor, Op 57, with Russian pianist Andrey Pisarev. Yao Jue, who invited the Borodin Quartet to perform in Hong Kong, says its programmes will showcase the ensemble's style and inspire Hong Kong audiences. Photo: Hong Kong String Orchestra
Russia Today
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Russia Today
The long-forgotten concert that helped defeat Hitler – and it didn't happen in Moscow
As the world celebrates the 80th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi Germany by the Red Army and its allies, there is a little-known story waiting to come to light about music masterpiece that helped raise funds in Africa for Soviet Russia during the Second World War. On 9 July 1944, Dmitri Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony, a work that became a music manifesto of resistance to Nazism, was premiered at the Metro Theatre of Johannesburg, South Africa. In a concert hall filled to capacity, conductor Jeremy Schulman raised his baton, and the orchestra began playing the opening theme: a mechanical march that exemplified the stomping sound of Nazi boots. That's how South Africa joined the world premiere of a symphony written during the siege ofLeningrad (presently – St. Petersburg, Russia's northern capital), which lasted almost 900 days: from 8September 1941 up to 27 January of 1944. By the time of its South African debut, the Leningrad Symphony had already acquired the status of a legend. Shostakovich began to compose it in September 1941 when the Germans were about to encircle Leningrad. He finished the first three parts under Nazi shelling, completing the score after evacuation from the city. The premiere took place on 5 March 1942 in the city of Kuibyshev (now Samara), and on 9 August of the same year – in Leningrad itself. Musicians had to be urgently rotated from the frontline to perform in the besieged city; some of them died of exhaustion and malnutrition. The symphony was not only a work of art – it was also an act of psychological warfare. German and Finnish soldiers deployed on the outskirts of the city realized: it is impossible to crush Leningrad's will for resistance. The musical score was brought to South Africa via Iran and Egypt as a part of cultural diplomacy of the USSR. Solomon 'Solly' Aronowsky, a Russian Empire-born Jewish violinist, helped to organize the concert. He saw the symphony as an instrument for uniting the voices of millions fighting for freedom. Eventually, the symphonic masterpiece was performed in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Johannesburg, 9 July 1944. The concert opened with the first performance of the symphony in Africa. Jeremy Schulman conducted the orchestra. One of South African newspapers described it this way: 'The first movement is the most outstanding, with its stirring and fascinating intermingling of themes, expressive of battle clashes and warm human suffering, and the exaltant determination to beat back the ominous threat of tyranny. The second and third movements are more subdued, but the fourth recaptures the spirit of triumphant resurrection.' The program also included arias from Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky operas sung by soprano Xenia Belmas. The proceeds from the ticket sales were donated to the Medical Aid for Russia, a prominent South African charity. Two month later, on 11 September 1944, the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra conducted by Dr William Pickerill played the symphony at the Cape Town City Hall. Organizing such events turned out to be a challenge for South African society, then divided by racial and ideological contradictions. At that time the Non-European majority was raising its voice through resistance campaigns and trade unions, while everyday life remained riven by degrading segregationist laws that excluded most black Africans, Indians, and Coloureds from fair land ownership, political representation, and public education. Such policy of racial discrimination laid the foundations of the apartheid regime that lasted in South Africa until 1994. Who supported the premiere? The Friends of the Soviet Union (FSU), a left-leaning formation ofwhite intellectuals and black activists, that used the symphony to promote anti-fascist ideas. FSU pamphlets calling for solidarity with Soviet Russia were distributed at the concerts. Who opposed it? The National Party of South Africa. Its leaders called the symphony 'communist propaganda.' However, despite these disputes, all shows were sold out. In Cape Town, during the celebration of Russian national day on 7 November 1944, the City Hall was full. After the German capitulation, the symphony did not lose its relevance. In 1945, it was included in the program of a concert to raise funds for a hospital in Stalingrad. The Cape Town Municipal Orchestra performed the first part, and violinist Ralph Koorland captivated the audience with Tchaikovsky's 'Serenade'. In January 1946, the symphony was performed again as part of the 'Russian Evening' in Johannesburg. Thus, Shostakovich sent a message to the post-war world: even though the war is over, the ideas of Nazism may still be smoldering.
Times
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Quatuor Danel review — I was agog with wonder at the finesse and delicacy
★★★★★ Three Soviet string quartets of the 1970s: it may suggest the kind of challenging concert where the only blast of jollity comes from enjoying an ice cream during the interval. Yet leaving Wigmore Hall, I felt exhilarated, practically walking on air. The music itself (the composers were Mieczyslaw Weinberg and Shostakovich) certainly played some part in this. But the evening's dominating pleasure was the brilliance of Quatuor Danel, four mostly French musicians of varying ages and heights, long resident at Manchester University, who displayed such heightened finesse, such thorough commitment, such exquisite delicacy, such roaring fury — anything their music required — that I sat agog with wonder. Take the cellist Yovan Markovitch. Fastidious but heartfelt, his head rarely still, he buttoned our ears
