According to its programme notes, Janáček’s 1926 work Sinfonietta depicts “contemporary free man, his spiritual beauty and joy, his strength, courage and determination to fight for victory.” What the composer had actually done was rework some earlier fanfares of his into a new piece based around an updated programme. Glazunov wrote his saxophone concerto in 1934, during his late Parisian period, after receiving a series of forceful requests to produce one. Although the composer’s music had been considered old-fashioned since as early as the turn of the century, this piece of his suddenly became an important piece of the saxophone literature. In the late 1930s, Shostakovich began work on a composition glorifying Lenin. However, progress was interrupted by the war and the arrival of the German army. In the late ’50s, he once again indicated his intention to commemorate what was by then the 90th anniversary of Lenin’s birth with a worthy work, but the composition would only finally be completed in the year after the event, in 1961. In terms of its programme, the symphony takes place in 1917, recounting the events of the Russian Revolution – and everything that a Soviet citizen might remember about it from the perspective of several decades later.

Presented by: Pannon Philharmonic