Beethoven & Shostakovich

Two great works of music history are the subject of the orchestra's performance at this concert. The reception they received at the time was nevertheless very mixed. It would be an understatement to say that Beethoven's Violin Concerto was a hit when it was premiered on a cold December evening in Vienna in 1806. The concert was met with great indifference and was quickly forgotten. It was almost 40 years later that the 12-year-old Joseph Joachim performed the concerto in London under the baton of Felix Mendelssohn. Finally, the world was ready to receive this magnificent symphonic violin concerto, and it has been a mainstay on the concert programs of orchestras and violinists around the world ever since.

Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, on the other hand, was greeted with a standing ovation at its premiere in 1937. The public rejoiced, and surprisingly, the political authorities in the Soviet Union did too. However, it seems almost certain that their interpretation of the work was not the same. The authorities heard "an honest response from a Soviet artist to legitimate criticism," as stated in a well-known quote, while the public experienced the work as a moving depiction of Stalinist repression. Nevertheless, the symphony has been Shostakovich's most frequently performed symphony and leaves no one untouched.

Korean-German violinist Clara-Jumi Kang is internationally recognised for her musical talent and technical skills. She has received numerous awards and recognitions during the course of her career. Her recording with pianist Sunwook Kim of all of Beethoven's violin sonatas, released by Accentus in 2021, has received rave reviews and nominations. The conductor, Bjarni Frímann Bjarnason, has conducted the Iceland Symphony Orchestra many times to great acclaim.