Review: Petrenko conducts Shostakovich

Erica Jeal in The Guardian reviewed Vasily Petrenko’s debut London concert with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (3 stars):

“Fittingly, Vasily Petrenko whipped up a terrifying, no-holds-barred performance in which the climaxes came with tinnitus-inducing cymbals and bass drums that hit you in the solar plexus. Petrenko’s control of the changing moods lit up the conflict between oppressor and oppressed: one passage found the cellos and basses playing as if in desperate flight, then instantaneously morphing into the machine-like enemy they were fleeing. But that was only half the story; this is one of Shostakovich’s most melodic symphonies, and the revolutionary songs he weaves into the music really did sing.”

Also reviewed in Classical Source

The pre-concert talk with Vasily Petrenko and writer and broadcaster David Nice  will be available as a podcast in early December.  www.lpo.org.uk/podcasts

24 November 2010

Stravinsky Scherzo fantastique
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3
Shostakovich Symphony No. 11

Vasily Petrenko conductor
Oleg Marshev piano

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