thoughts on shostakovich’s eighth symphony May 2, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a commentOver the past eight years I’ve had more than a passing acquaintance with the music of Dmitri Shostakovich. With the two string quartets that I’ve been part of, I’ve performed the quartets nos. 1, 3, 8, 9 and 15. In various orchestras I’ve performed the symphonies nos. 1, 4, 5, 7 and 9 (coincidentally, DSCH wrote 15 quartets and 15 symphonies).
With this experience of performing his works, plus listening to and studying many of his other works, I am convinced that the Eighth Symphony is a very different sort of animal than all the rest of his output. (more…)
a local rostropovich connection May 2, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a commentThis past weekend, as we in the OSO were discussing the life and impact of the great musician Mstislav Rostropovich, it came to my attention that one of our own cellists, Assistant principal cello David Sokolofsky, had a unique connection to history and Rostropovich. It’s a cool story, and rather than paraphrase it, here it is in David’s own words: (more…)
