Rising star Fabien Gabel conducts a programme highlighting the subtle connections between French and Russian repertoire.

Shostakovich’s searing Violin Concerto No 1 forms the centrepiece of this concert, performed here by the inimitable James Ehnes. The concerto was written during a time of great turmoil for Shostakovich, and was supressed for almost a decade before its first performance. This darkly dramatic work revels in devil-may-care virtuosity for orchestra and soloist alike.

A pair of works created by Ravel bookend the programme.La valse is a musical depiction of the birth and eventual destruction of the waltz genre that saw its heyday amidst the grandeur and excess of fin-de-siecle Vienna. Ravel’s iconic arrangement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition brings the concert to a thrilling close, with Ravel’s flawlessly crafted orchestration breathing life and colour into Mussorgsky’s magnum opus.

Programme & Performers

Ravel La valse
Shostakovich Violin Concerto No 1
Michael Taplin Ebbing Tides (world premiere, Panufnik commission)
Mussorgsky arr Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition

Fabien Gabel conductor
James Ehnes violin
London Symphony Orchestra