Rachmnaninov's Second Piano Concerto

Shostakovich’s most popular symphony contains everything that makes the composer irresistible - physical power, emotional extremes, extraordinary directness and enduring wit in the face of human savagery. In his Symphony No. 5, written as his life hung in the balance, Shostakovich seemingly managed the impossible: protesting the savagery of Stalin’s regime while satisfying the censors that he was conforming to their whims. None of that would matter had Shostakovich not delivered a symphony of brilliant themes, extraordinary colours and ferocious cumulative power.

Kachun Wong, Sir Mark Elder’s successor as Music Director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, makes his Bergen Philharmonic debut at this concert that also includes the most popular Russian concerto ever written, Rachmaninoff’s heart-rending Piano Concerto No. 2 from the ‘monumental and brilliant’ (Taggespiegel) pianist Benjamin Grosvenor. The concert opens with first performance of a brand new work by Anna Berg - a ritual fantasy on the importance and wonder of an everyday element we take for granted: water.

Anna Berg, photo: Sara Angelica Spilling