Fifth Symphony to open season

The Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra opens its 2014-15 season with Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, almost literally a life-saving work as far as its composer was concerned and certainly one that ensured his artistic future.

His most recent compositions had made no concessions to the official doctrine of Soviet Realism, directly contradicting the spirit of optimism then demanded of artists. Criticism from the top followed.

Written in 1937 at the height of Stalin’s Great Terror – when any who were opposed to the current regime were denounced, put on trial or simply disappeared – the Fifth Symphony was Shostakovich’s conscious bid for rehabilitation.

The work is to a certain extent autobiographical. The emotional power and controlled anguish of the slow movement moved many to tears at the first performance, while the all-conquering optimism of its finale never fails to overwhelm.

A different sort of crisis faced Rachmaninov in 1900 when he suffered from a kind of creative paralysis.

Work on his Second Piano Concerto became impossible until he was persuaded to undergo a course of treatment that involved therapeutic hypnosis.

The successful outcome of this treatment resulted in an outpouring of memorable melodic invention and exquisite craftsmanship.

This most romantic of piano concertos has enjoyed enduring success ever since its first performance in 1901, helped in no small way by its links with the classic 1945 movie, Brief Encounter.

The soloist in Sunday’s performance is the young Russian pianist Natasha Paremski, whose temperament and astounding technique are well-suited to the virtuosic demands of Rachmaninov’s masterpiece.

Starts 2.45pm, tickets from £11.
Call 01273 709709

Peter Back