You’ve got great taste.
Sign in to follow your favorite artists, save events, & more.
Sign In
Get Tickets
Tickets
About this concert
Shostakovich’s shattering Eighth Symphony is the climax of a gripping all-Russian programme from BBC Symphony Orchestra guest conductor Hannu Lintu and viola phenom Timothy Ridout.
It’s a bitter irony, but bad politics sometimes produce great art. Shostakovich wrote his Eighth Symphony at the height of the Second World War, and every bar of this colossal work resounds with violent struggle. Schnittke’s Viola Concerto was born in the dying days of the Soviet Union: a voice of sorrow, mischief and subversion beneath the grey skies of the Cold War.
These two masterpieces are two pages of the same twentieth century story – dissident masters, speaking truth to power in a time when the wrong notes (like the wrong opinions) carried a brutal price. Together, they add up to a formidable programme from guest conductor Hannu Lintu, with the “terrifically talented” (The Times) Timothy Ridout bringing both poetry and passion to Schnittke’s remarkable concerto.
Show More
Find a place to stay
Event Lineup
Upcoming concerts from similar artists
Easily follow your favorite artists by syncing your music
Sync Music
Share Event
BBC Symphony Orchestra Biography
The BBC Symphony Orchestra has been at the heart of British musical life since it was founded in 1930. It plays a central role in the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, performing at the First and Last Nights, as well as throughout each Proms season. The BBC SO performs an annual season of concerts at the Barbican in London, where it is Associate Orchestra. Its commitment to contemporary music is demonstrated by a range of premieres each season, as well as Total Immersion days devoted to specific composers or themes.
The vast majority of the BBC SO’s performances are broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and a number of studio recordings each season are free to attend. These often feature up-and-coming talent, including members of BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists scheme. All broadcasts are available for 30 days on BBC Sounds and the BBC SO can also be seen on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer, and heard on the BBC’s online archive, Experience Classical. The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus – alongside the BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Singers and BBC Proms – also offer innovative education and community activities and take a lead role in the BBC Ten Pieces and BBC Young Composer programme.
Read MoreThe vast majority of the BBC SO’s performances are broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and a number of studio recordings each season are free to attend. These often feature up-and-coming talent, including members of BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists scheme. All broadcasts are available for 30 days on BBC Sounds and the BBC SO can also be seen on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer, and heard on the BBC’s online archive, Experience Classical. The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus – alongside the BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Singers and BBC Proms – also offer innovative education and community activities and take a lead role in the BBC Ten Pieces and BBC Young Composer programme.
Classical
Orchestral
Follow artist