Simon Rattle conducts Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony

Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony was due to have its world premiere in Saint Petersburg on 30 December 1936 – but the composer withdrew the work at short notice. Whether he had musical reservations or was, in fact, fearing Stalinist censorship cannot be said with certainty today. The Fourth is indeed a magnificent, not to say gigantic, opus, but its ostensibly patriotic grandeur is repeatedly subverted. Shostakovich transforms it into the surreal, and at times into dance or march motifs. In this sense, the symphony is similar to the style of Gustav Mahler and offers a fascinating opportunity to explore its influences.

Mahler’s spirit also pervades the first work of the concert with Simon Rattle: an adagio from Alban Berg’s Lulu suite. Another discovery is the cantata Les Voix by Paul Dessau, with soprano Angela Denoke and pianist Lars Vogt. Dessau (1894–1979) was one of the most versatile composers of his age, writing twelve-tone works alongside film music (for Disney and Hitchcock, for example). His music has only been included in a concert by the Berliner Philharmoniker once before, when one short work was performed in 1970.