Eivind conducts Shostakovich's Tenth

Composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)

11 minutes


Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin follows a hero haunted by regret after rejecting a young woman’s love. The Waltz and Polonaise in Acts II and III portray growing love, jealousy and gossip through the balls and dances that shaped courtship and society.

In Act II, the selfish hero dances with the woman he rejected while gossip fuels his irritation. To spite the friend who brought him to the party, he dances with his friend’s fiancée. Tchaikovsky’s score builds through exchanges between woodwinds and strings to a bold brass entrance, then settles into a light, buoyant waltz melody.

In Act III, the Polonaise is the beginning of the end to a story of love and rejection. The hero meets the woman again, now poised and sophisticated, and realises his love and regret. Like the Waltz, the Polonaise moves with a characteristic dance rhythm. Brass takes a prominent role, with the trumpet’s clear, fanfare-like calls heard from the opening. Two ideas alternate: grand orchestral passages and quieter, flowing melodies. Their contrast reflects the lovers’ jealousy, regret and love as the hero confronts the lasting consequences of his rejection.

Composed by Sally Beamish (born 1956)

22 minutes


Sally Beamish, a contemporary British composer explores the elements within the four movements of her new concerto for Basset Clarinet. The Basset Clarinet, with an extended lower range than heard on a typical Bb or A Clarinet, leads the first movement into the demonstration of air through birdsong, depicting the Weaverbird amongst the soundscape of the African savannah.

Earth follows, with repeated chorale-like chords and a central section with playful interaction between the soloist, xylophone and pizzicato strings. The chorale returns after a lullaby from the orchestra. The composer described that “The idea of the earth as a cradle is poignant; the young it has nurtured have risen up and began to destroy it.” (Sally Beamish, 2026)

The depiction of the third element, water, is done so through the focus on its absence. Light, sporadic rainfall in a drought stricken or parched landscape is heard through the pizzicato strings and rainstick. There is no depiction of any full bodied or fast-moving waters, only dryness. The orchestra is also introduced to the water phone in the percussion section, a bowed metallophone with a resonating pan filled with water.

The dryness of the third movement is transformed into the ‘Wildfire’ of the final. The same themes are expanded upon into an increasingly wild and uncontrollable fire, before eventually subsiding.

The ending of the piece cycles through the themes and elements heard throughout the composition, with a revisit to the chorale-like section, in which the soloist plays melodies from the drought before ending with the final call from the Weaverbird.

Composed by Dmitri Schostakovich (1906-1975)

57 minutes


Joseph Stalin’s regime has long been associated with censorship, tragedy and terror. Because Shostakovich lived through much of that time, it is no surprise that this would have impacted his work, life and inspiration that fuelled his compositions.

His 10^th symphony, composed shortly after the death of Stalin and written in four movements explores themes of tragedy, terror, violence, and ends with a triumphant release.

The first movement includes contrasting melodies, steady and wistful in nature between the strings and clarinet solo. This continuously builds into the cacophony of emotional outpour, rhythmically marked with militaristic drumming and embellished by the strident piccolo.

This is followed by the depiction of fear and contention in the form of a march; the militaristic percussion becomes a key element of the music once again.

Listen out for the tune shared in the flutes and clarinets, and the second motif (recurring melody) by the french horns in the third movement. These are said to be musical signatures for Shostakovich, and a student of his by the name of Elmira Nazirova as the two motif use musical notes to spell out renditions of their names. The French horn motif almost appears to be obsessed with playing the signature for Elmira as it appears often throughout the waltz.

Whilst the final movement begins slowly and grows into almost full-blown madness from the entire orchestra, the bassoon summons us to music without terror, leading the orchestra into a full and triumphant resolution from the darkness.