Eighty years after

War always provokes the same questions: why, for what? Shostakovich, Hartmann and Haydn asked these questions, too. Tones of grief and consolation remind us of the past and help us to reflect once again. This concert with conductor Chloe Rooke and violinist Maria Milstein is an opportunity for contemplation and solidarity – for today, for tomorrow, for ever. 

Shostakovich’s Third String Quartet, in a version adapted for a string orchestra, is a poignant tribute to all victims of war. The composer made their terrible experiences a part of his music, and at the time of the premiere in Moscow, he couldn’t control his tears. Karl Amadeus Hartmann took a different approach: in his Concerto funebre, written on the eve of the Second World War, he converted his fear into a powerful protest against tyranny. In the hands of soloist Maria Milstein, the violin sounds as a voice of resistance, fearless and passionate. Haydn’s Trauersymfonie concludes the evening with the question, how do we continue? It is music that unites grief and consolation, and invites us to reflect on what truly matters.