BRITTEN AND SHOSTAKOVICH: A REMARKABLE FRIENDSHIP

June 11, 2015 | 20th Century Theatre, London

Aleksei Kiseliov, cello
Itamar Golan, piano

Illustrated talk by Iain Burnside

Britten Cello Sonata, Op. 65
Shostakovich Cello Sonata, Op. 40

The catalyst was ‘Slava’, the charismatic cellist Mstislav Rostropovich: at the height of the Cold War he introduced Shostakovich and Benjamin Britten to each other at the UK premiere of the former’s first Cello Concerto. Both were shy, but recognised a fellow artist, spiritually in sympathy. Britten’s immediate response was to pen his bold Sonata in C, in some ways a portrait of Slava, his courage, humour and suffering. Shostakovich’s own Sonata dates from the creative crucible of his pre-war years when he was learning to subvert conventional forms in emotionally powerful ways. Britten said of Shostakovich, ‘no one composing today has equal influence on me’. Shostakovich responded by dedicating his Symphony No. 14 to Britten.