Shostakovich: Donglai Shi, Ali Hancorn & Blake Phillpot

About This Concert

From the sweeping energy of Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro to the wit and brilliance of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1, this programme showcases the incredible versatility of the string orchestra. Elgar’s masterpiece was originally written to demonstrate the virtuosity of the newly formed London Symphony Orchestra, making it a fitting opener for the City Chamber Orchestra’s inaugural concert. Soloists Donglai Shi and Ali Hancorn join the orchestra for Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1. A double concerto for piano and trumpet, the work marks a dramatic textural shift, taking the listener through a sardonic, unpredictable landscape. Full of parody and clever musical quotes from Beethoven and Haydn, its extreme virtuosity has maintained its position as an audience favourite ever since its premiere. The journey continues with Grieg’s Holberg Suite. Subtitled "Suite in olden style", it looks back to Baroque dance forms through a warm, nineteenth-century lens, treating traditional Gavottes and Sarabandes to romantic harmonies and a prevailing sense of Nordic colour. The evening will conclude with a short, unannounced work for string quartet.