Shostakovich Symphony No.8, CBSO, Symphony Hall, Birmingham, 28 September, 2023.

5***** David Gray & Paul Gray.

Rachmaninoff – Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Shostakovich – Symphony No. 8

Pianist Boris Glitburg’s affinity with and understanding of Rachmaninoff’s music shone out in a virtuosic, passionate and also very elegant performance of the composer's much-loved Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. From the outset it was clear this was going to be a deeply lyrical interpretation, with Glitburg finding line and song even in the spikey brilliance of the opening variation.

Conductor, Michael Seal, maintained and controlled a good dynamic balance between piano and orchestra which allowed the conversation to unfold clearly and facilitated strong contrasts in mood. Soloist and band worked together to create moments of subtle delicacy, and then let rip in the climactic passages with a vigorous muscularity of tone.

Seal’s reading highlighted the work's structural strength and symphonic underpinning. A thrilling, complete and deeply satisfying performance.

It is hard to believe that only nine years separate Rachmaninoff’s ebullient romantic Variations and Shostakovich’s dark and difficult Symphony No. 8; the sound worlds feel like they might be a century apart. But a brutal war can do that.

This was a compelling reading which brought out a feeling of inescapable inevitability. Maestro Seal maintained a subtle but strong pulse through the surface lyricism of the opening Adagio - a hidden march which propelled the movement with an implacable determination towards its cataclysmic climax.

A similar momentum was maintained through the mirthless, rictus smile of the second movement – Shostakovich here sounding sardonically Mahlerian – and the brutal helter-skelter of the third movement.

Tension seemed to build through the performance, without release even for an instant. The result was engrossing, involving and, frankly, quite exhausting. A sense of the elegiac permeated the final two movements. Glimpses of sunlight peeped through the darkness, but only to briefly illuminate a shattered landscape through a miasma of gunsmoke.

Special mention has to go to the woodwind section, particularly the various soloists, who played with commitment and colour.

This was a harrowing, at times terrifying interpretation, that left one stunned in its intensity. Exactly as it should be. Seal’s was a stunning reading of this long (65 minute) difficult yet magnificent work, and his orchestra had their eyes firmly fixed on their conductor throughout. An utterly remarkable performance. Bravo.

Michael Seal – Conductor

Boris Glitburg – Piano

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra