Sinfonia Concertante

Mozart’s sunny and profound Sinfonia Concertante contrasts with the shifting temperaments of Shostakovich.

Sitting between a symphony and a concerto, the sinfonia concertante inhabits the best of both worlds and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola is the best of the best. Husband and wife team Ji Won Kim and Caleb Wright do the honours as co-soloists in Mozart’s sunny and profound work.

Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich crowned his career as a symphonist with the Symphony No 15, which was written in 1971. As always with Shostakovich’s music, the symphony swings between cheerful and despairing moods, boisterous high jinks and deep sorrow. In other words, it offers a rich and layered account of lived experience.

Opening the concert is Rossini’s rollicking overture to the opera William Tell. Well known from its use in television shows, films and cartoons, Rossini’s overture is quoted in Shostakovich’s Symphony No 15, setting up a dialogue between the opening and closing works.