This program features music of two great composers, Ukrainian Valentyn Silvestrov and Russian Dmitri Shostakovich, whose artistic expression was shaped by political events in their homelands. Silvestrov fled Kyiv in 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Shostakovich struggled throughout his life with censorship of Stalin’s regime in Soviet Union.
Silvestrov’s Three Intermezzos and Triptych were written for Ettore Causa and Boris Berman, and they are receiving their New York premiere in this concert. Shostakovich’s Sonata for Viola and Piano is his final work, his musical farewell, completed only a month before his death in 1975.
Both Silvestrov and Shostakovich transcend the enormous challenges of their life experiences and write music that is filled with humanity, enlightenment and profound beauty.
