The Hallé – Shostakovich’s Dazzling First
Johnny James, Managing Editor
GRAZYNA BACEWICZ Overture
AARON COPLAND Appalachian Spring: Suite
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No.1
Delyana Lazarova CONDUCTOR
Streaming from The Bridgewater Hall, the Hallé will perform a varied programme of Grazyna Bacewicz, Aaron Copland and Dmitri Shostakovich under the baton of new Assistant Conductor, Delyana Lazarova.
Awarded First Prize in the 2020 Siemens-Hallé International Conductors Competition, Bulgarian-born Delyana Lazarova is an exceptional young talent. She is a passionate enthusiast of the music of Grazyna Bacewicz, the first Polish female composer to achieve an international reputation. Bacewicz’s Overture, composed in a time of fear during Second World War, blazes with defiance and courage, and secretly incorporated the morse code’s V for ‘victory’ rhythm.
Next in the programme is Aaron Copland’s greatest ballet score, Appalachian Spring. In it, Copland totally absorbed the spirit of American hymnody, as exemplified by the Shaker hymn ‘Simple Gifts’.
Finally, Shostakovich’s First Symphony returns to the hands of the Hallé, who gave it its UK premiere under Sir Hamilton Harty in 1932. The work dazzles with compositional brilliance, whether displaying sardonic humour, plunging emotional depths or indulging in a sheer sense of fun.
As with the entirety of the Hallé’s Winter Season, the concert will be available to stream via Vimeo at thehalle.vhx.tv, and tickets can be purchased via the orchestra’s website.
