Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1

It’s hard to overstate the depth of the connection between Dmitri
Shostakovich and the legendary cellist Mstistlav Rostropovich.
Shostakovich and Rostropovich were extremely close friends, and
Shostakovich wrote and dedicated several works to him, including
the piece we’re going to talk about today, the first Cello
Concerto. Rostropovich had been desperate to get Shostakovich to
write a concerto for him, but Shostakovich’s wife had one simple
piece of advice: if you want Shostakovich to write something for
you, don’t talk to him about it or even mention it. So
Rostropovich waited and waited, until July of 1959, when he was
asked by Shostakovich to come to Leningrad to try out a new Cello
Concerto. Shostakovich played through the piece for Rostropovich,
turned to him, and asked him if he liked it. Rostropovich
apparently told Shostakovich that he “had been shaken to the
core.” Shostakovich, in his famously modest way, then shakily
asked Rostropovich if he could dedicate the concerto to him.
Rostropovich immediately agreed, and then rushed off to learn the
concerto as quickly as possible. He learned the entire concerto
in 3 days, then returned to Shostakovich and played it for him by
heart. The concerto is practically stamped with Rostropovich’s
name, which is why I’ll be using a recording of a live
performance of Rostropovich during the show today, though I must
say I also recommend a pretty great modern recording by a certain
cellist who is also my sister, Alisa Weilerstein. This concerto
has always been one of my favorites; it is compact, powerful,
punchy, beautiful, intense, concentrated, and tremendously
exciting. For me, it is one of Shostakovich’s most Beethovenian
works, in its lean power and its obsession with a single motive.
Today on this fundraiser sponsored show, we’ll talk through this
fantastic concerto, and explore just what makes its momentum so
inevitable and so thrilling from start to finish. Join us!