Cleveland Orchestra 02

Franz Welser-Möst concludes the Cleveland Orchestra’s account of Smetana’s Má Vlast with the powerful final movements.

Franz Welser-Möst concludes the Cleveland Orchestra’s account of Smetana’s Má Vlast with the powerful final movements, which depict the glories of Bohemian pride in music of blazing defiance. Shostakovich wrote his seldom-heard Symphony No 6 just after the dark years of Stalin’s purges, and the jollity of its conclusion makes a startling contrast with its haunting opening.

Compelling German pianist Lars Vogt is the soloist in Lutoslawski’s Piano Concerto, a piece full of energy and shimmering colours that proudly displays the inspiration its composer took from Chopin and Rachmaninov. It’s the perfect showpiece for Vogt’s combination of muscularity and refinement, and for the remarkable warmth and clarity of the Cleveland Orchestra’s sound.

Programme

Cleveland Orchestra

Franz Welser-Möst Conductor

Lars Vogt Piano

Lutoslawski Piano Concerto

Smetana Má Vlast (parts 5 – 6)

Shostakovich Symphony No 6