Chamber Music Evening N° 7

To mark the anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich’s death, our chamber music collaboration with the Leipzig Gewandhaus is turning to one of his most significant works: the second piano trio. It was written in memory of Ivan Sollertinsky, the critic and musicologist who not only introduced the composer to the music of Gustav Mahler, but also provided important impulses for Shostakovich’s own work. Dedicated to his friend in the year of his death, the trio also reflects on the hardships and despair of WWII. In the final movement, a melody styled on Jewish folk music recalls the victims of both Hitler and Stalin. The tune was later reworked in the famous 8th String Quartet from 1960 as a poignant reminder to those who survived.