Prague Symphony Orchestra

Prague Symphony Orchestra
Tomáš Brauner conductor
Alexander Sitkovetsky violin

Dvořák The Noon Witch
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
Shostakovich Symphony No.5

From Tchaikovsky’s soaring brilliance to Shostakovich’s life-saving masterpiece, a gripping programme from Tomáš Brauner and the ever-versatile Prague Symphony Orchestra.

Dmitri Shostakovich feared for his life. His latest opera had been slammed in Pravda – and many believed the criticism came direct from Joseph Stalin, who had just begun the Great Purge that would hollow out Soviet society. His very existence under threat, Shostakovich responded with his staggering Fifth Symphony, which won a 45-minute standing ovation at its 1937 premiere – and, perhaps, saved the composer’s life.

Before it, Alexander Sitkovetsky brings a little romance to this Valentine’s Day concert with Tchaikovsky’s spellbinding Violin Concerto. The programme wouldn’t be complete without something from the orchestra’s Czech homeland – and we’ll get it thanks to Antonin Dvořák’s musical portrait of the mythical child-snatching demon.

Read more about the concert in our blog post.