Shaman

An evening with Shostakovich and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Today, I had the privilege to be among a select few who were invited by the PSO to attend a classical music concert at Heinz Hall. It all began about a week ago, when the PSO invited Pittsburgh bloggers to a concert commemorating the 100th anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich. Jonathan Mayes played host to a group of Pittsburgh bloggers.

There was an excellent pre-concert brief by Greg Sandow (Classical music critic, blogger and composer. He blogs at the artsjournal.com website). Greg gave the audience an excellent overview of Shostakovich, his life and times, a sampling of his music, and brought us up to speed on his musical style.

After the pre-concert talk, we were given a backstage tour of Heinz Hall, and were privy to the inner sanctums of the musicians, conductors and the PSO staff who toil hard to make every concert possible. I was hoping for some exclusive perspectives of the venue from the viewpoint of a photographer, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Apart from the musicians preparing for the concert, we were also introduced to some of the folk who work in the background to make it all happen.We had a chat with the team that manages the sheet music library for the PSO, and is responsible for ensuring that the musicians have the correct music for the concert.

(Jonathan Mayes, our host, along with the folks Lisa Gedris(pics 1 and 2) and Joann Vosburgh (pic 2). They manage the music library at Heinz Hall)

After that, it was time for the concert. The first half consisted of the rarely played Suite from The Bolt, an exuberant and optimistic ballet that showcased the piccolo and the trumpet in particular. The Bolt Suite has eight parts: Overture, Bureaucrat’s Dance (Polka), Drayman’s Dance (Variation), Kozelkov’s Dance and his Friends (Tango), Intermezzo (Destroyer), Dance of Colonial Bondswomen and Slave Girl’s Dance, Conciliator (Yes-Man), and General Dance and Apotheosis (Finale). The PSO played four parts:

1. Kozelkov’s Dance and his Friends (Tango)
2. Intermezzo (Destroyer)
3. Bureaucrat’s Dance (Polka)
4. Drayman’s Dance (Variation).

This was followed by Concerto No. 1 in C minor for Piano and Orchestra. Vladimir Feltsman excelled on the piano, while Pittsburgh’s own Charles Lirette dazzled with his virtuoso trumpet performance.

The second half of the concert was devoted to the famous Symphony No. 5 in D Minor. The symphony has four movements:

1. Moderato
2. Allegretto
3. Largo
4. Allegro non troppo

It is widely believed that this symphony was Shostakovich’s reply to criticism related to his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtensk. Shostakovich claimed that the Fifth symphony was a criticism of the Soviet Communist system. The resounding finale was amplified by the thundering Timpani. Greg Sandow informed us that Vassily Sinaisky, the conductor for the evening, prefers this style to accentuate the finale. The audience was on their feet, applauding a masterful performance. There were three encores, and there would have been more, but I think everyone got tired after clapping so hard.

There was a get together of the bloggers after the concert, and Jonathan has arranged for some coffee and cookies. Greg Sandow spoke to us, and there were some interesting conversations about Shostakovich, his work, music and context, political influences on composers and other interesting topics.

It was a great way to spend a Sunday in Pittsburgh. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

A big thank you to Jonathan Mayes and Kevin DeLuca of the PSO, and to the Pittsburgh Bloggers for making it happen.