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BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert: Truls Mørk/Håvard Gimse

Shostakovich Plus

Truls Mørk

The autumn series of BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts is dedicated to Shostakovich's chamber works, complementing Gianandrea Noseda's symphony cycle with the LSO at the Barbican Hall.

Written around the time of an intense extra-marital affair, some have heard Shostakovich’s passion for his new love in the sounds of the Cello Sonata. ‘The first movement, composed of firelight and kisses, remains the most romantic thing that Shostakovich ever wrote,’ said novelist William T Vollman.

Like Shostakovich, Prokofiev was also a victim of the Zhdanov Doctrine, in which many prominent Soviet composers were officially denounced. This sonata was written the year after, when the composer was unsure whether his works would ever be performed again, yet remains defiantly expressive.

Recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3

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