Shostakovich – First and Last

Meet a great virtuoso: violinist Clara-Jumi Kang! Born in Germany and of South Korean heritage, she was recognised as a prodigy at an early age. Both her parents are professional singers, and she began playing the violin at the age of three. At just four, she became the youngest student ever admitted to the Mannheim University of Music.

Clara-Jumi Kang last appeared with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in 2022, and now she returns as soloist in Shostakovich’s remarkable Violin Concerto No. 1 – a work of profound gravity combined with breathtaking beauty. Shostakovich also reveals his wonderfully sarcastic side here – as if thumbing his nose at Stalin’s cultural enforcers.

The concert also features Shostakovich’s Fifteenth Symphony – his final symphony. While not technically demanding, it remains one of his most enigmatic compositions. In the playful first movement, we hear the famous William Tell theme from Rossini’s opera, but beneath the surface lies a skewed and unpredictable world. Shostakovich also quotes Wagner and some of his own earlier works. He knew his time was running out – and perhaps in this last symphony, we hear a Soviet artist’s life flashing before our ears.

Read more about chief conductor Ryan Bancroft