photo: Molchanovsky Alexei

András Keller and Concerto Budapest have already done much to ensure the long-neglected Dmitri Shostakovich will finally enjoy his rightful place in the concert halls of Hungary. It goes without saying, then, that on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the death of the composer, the conductor and his orchestra will devote an entire evening to the Russian great, who, despite a destructive and tyrannical environment, was still capable of perfecting his art and transmitting secret messages to both the public of his era and posterity. Piano Concerto No. 2, written for Shostakovich’s son, Maxim, will be performed with a solo from the Ryazan-born Russian pianist Dina Ivanova, who has already earned worldwide acclaim despite her youth. We will then have the chance to marvel at Shostakovich’s congenial arrangements as we hear his Cold War version of Mussorgsky’s cycle Songs and Dances of Death, featuring a vocal bass solo from Miklós Sebestyén. Representing the lighter part of Shostakovich’s career are the waltz, polka and foxtrot movements of the Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 1, written in 1934. We will conclude with Symphony No. 9, which in 1945 demonstrably – and hugely controversially – paid so little heed to the expectations of official sources for monumental pathos to mark the Soviet victory in World War II.