Proms 2014 Prom 7: Shostakovich, Bartók & Tavener by Tavener, Bartók, Shostakovich, T 23 jūl 2014, No (2014/2014), Diriģents Jiří Bělohlávek, Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom

Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony – a violent portrait of the horrors of Stalin’s Russia – is the centrepiece of this concert from Jiří Bělohlávek and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. They are joined by German violinist Isabelle Faust for the passionate nationalism of Bartók’s Second Violin Concerto, and the concert opens with the first of two posthumous premieres this season by John Tavener. Isabelle Faust’s association with Bartók extends back to her very first recording. Now, fresh from an acclaimed disc of both the composer’s violin concertos, she joins the BBC SO and Conductor Laureate Jiří Bělohlávek for Bartók’s Second Violin Concerto. Written under the threat of Fascism, it’s a passionate national statement, lively with folk rhythms. By the early 1950s and Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony, threat had become reality. This violent, despairing work paints a vivid portrait ofthe horrors of Stalin’s Russia. The evening opens with the first of two posthumous premieres this season from the late John Tavener – some of the last works from England’s great musical mystic.