Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen / Kristiina Poska

‘The music of Beethoven is essential across the board. It is all or nothing. Life or death.’ In recent seasons, Kristiina Poska’s dedication to his oeuvre has only increased. So, what does his Symphony No. 8 tell us about life and death. It is light-hearted, sometimes even seemingly superficial, but also ironic and often irresistibly funny… However often you listen to it, this high-spirited symphony always wrongfoots you. Shostakovich also harnessed the same ironic power almost a century and a half later. To fabulous effect. In his Cello Concerto, he linked his own musical handshake to the favourite melody of the now deceased Stalin. Talk about musical humour! Bitter, cutting and efficient. Cellist Johannes Moser performs Shostakovich’s Concerto precisely and vitally, entreatingly and threateningly.