Dmitri Schostakowitsch

Konzert Nr. 1 op. 107

Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his first cello concerto in 1959 for Mstislav Rostropovich. Premiered on October 4, 1959, in Leningrad with the Leningrad Philharmonic under the direction of Yevgeny Mravinsky, this four-movement work captivates with its formal clarity, rhythmic precision, and high level of solo virtuosity. Thus, the memorable main motif of the first movement recurs throughout the entire work like an idée fixe. Lyrical depth dominates the slow second movement, while the cadenza of the third movement almost takes on the character of a movement in its own right. The finale combines folk elements with ironic contrasts. Shostakovich deliberately kept the orchestra small and seems to have drawn less on opulent orchestrations—such as those in Elgar’s Cello Concerto—and more on classical models.