Tugan Sokhiev in conversation with Stanley Dodds (16 min.)

Since his debut in 2010, the Ossetian conductor Tugan Sokhiev has made regular guest appearances with the Berliner Philharmoniker. In December 2014, the programme was a Russian evening with works by Liadov, Prokofiev and Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony. To mark the event, Sokhiev spoke with Canadian violinist Stanley Dodds, who joined the orchestra in 1994. He gained decisive impetus from the great conductor and teacher Ilya Musin, who was already in his 90th year when Sokhiev began studying with him at the age of 16. In the interview, he talks about his years studying under Musin and how training has changed since Sokhiev was a student. The conductor also talks about the works of the concert: what role the political dimension plays in Shostakovich’s famous Fifth Symphony, and why Sokhiev regards the violinist Vadim Gluzman, who made his debut in this concert with the Berliner Philharmoniker, as the ideal interpreter of Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto.