Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9 Concerto Budapest & András Keller

• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975): Symphony No. 9 in E-Flat Major, Op. 70:
• 1Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 in E-Flat Major, Op. 70: I. Allegro05:22
• 2Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 in E-Flat Major, Op. 70: II. Moderato07:03
• 3Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 in E-Flat Major, Op. 70: III. Presto03:00
• 4Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 in E-Flat Major, Op. 70: IV. Largo03:17
• 5Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 in E-Flat Major, Op. 70: V. Allegretto06:05
• Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47:
• 6Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47: I. Moderato13:44
• 7Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47: II. Allegretto05:05
• 8Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47: III. Largo12:30
• 9Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47: IV. Allegro non troppo10:00
• Total Runtime01:06:06

Info for Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9

Pictures while listening to symphony no. 9: A joyful, almost boisterous opening movement. A dreamy, contemplative second followed by a sparkling presto. And then this short fourth movement, the helpless lament of a lonely bassoon, still showing signs of vitality against the stark, unbending, unison brass. A small, tormented individual under brutal state power. Nevertheless, still it laments. The dictator repeats his demand. But the bassoon does not totally lose heart. It starts the last movement with a shy, slightly mischievous dance that becomes gradually more light-hearted. Somewhere along the line, the timpani and horns give the signal to rise up, initially very softly. This is the announcement to the dictator: watch out, Stalin, this is it, now I'll make you think with pen and ink! The furious ascent peaks with a grotesque triumphal march that sounds like liberated laughter. The powerless one makes fun of the all-powerful – and then whistles in his face! Looking back, the question arises: who is the one lying as heavy as cold sheet metal in an eternal bottomless pit and who is the one who remains laughing in history? Judging by the music, by the 9th symphony Shostakovich had put the worst of times behind him. Quite different from in the 5th, but that's another story. Another story, by the way, that you can also find in this cinema.

Is that just my idea? Or does it come from the fact that the Concerto Budapest and András Keller tell the story in such a straightforward manner? It almost seems as if there are people playing here who are marked by the aftermath of those times.

"Concerto Budapest and Andras Keller perform Shostakovich’s neoclassical Ninth Symphony with feather-light playing." (Pizzicato)

Concerto Budapest
András Keller, conductor

András Keller
The Hungarian Kossuth Prized violinist, founder of the famous Keller Quartet, music director of Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra since 2007 and Professor of Violin and Béla Bartók International Chair at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He has enjoyed a varied career as a soloist, concertmaster and chamber musician at the highest international level.

András Keller was seven years old when he took his first violin lessons. At the age of fourteen, he began his studies at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music under the guidance of Dénes Kovács, Ferenc Rados and György Kurtág and then in Salzburg, by Sándor Végh. János Ferencsik then invited Keller to work as the concertmaster of the Hungarian State Orchestra. Simultaneously, he was appointed soloist of the National Philharmonic Orchestra. From 1984 to 1991, he acted as the concertmaster of the Budapest Festival Orchestra. He founded the Keller String Quartet (András Keller, János Pilz, Zoltán Gál and Ottó Kertész) and won the world's two most prestigious string quartet competitions in 1990: in Evian and Borciani in Reggio Emilia. The ensemble is a regular guest at the most significant European and American music festivals and concert halls. They have toured Japan, Middle- and South-America and New Zealand.

Highlights of András Keller's career were, among others, the recitals given with Sándor Végh, the festive gala concert in the Barbican, London in honour of the 50th anniversary of Béla Bartók's death and Princess Diana's invitation. His solo and chamber music albums have garnered the most prestigious prizes, such as the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis six times between 1996 and 2006. He is the recipient of the honours of the city of Bonn and was voted to be the Artist of the Year in Italy. Some of his other awards include the MIDEM Classical Award (twice), the Victoire Prix, the Record Academy Award in Japan and the Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros in France. In May 2007, he received the Caecilia Prize in Belgium for the best chamber music recording of the year.

András Keller is a regular guest artist of the most prominent music festivals, such as the Salzburger Festwochen, festivals in Lucerne and Montreux, the London Proms, the Mostly Mozart New York, the Berliner Festspiele, the Schubertiade, the Wiener Festwochen, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival or the Prague Spring. The maestro gives masterclasses throughout the world. He is a regular coach at, among others, at the Internationale Sommerakademie, in the school of IMS Prussia Cove and has also acted as guest professor at Yale University, at the Aix-en-Provence International Festival, at the Verbier Festival, at the Accademia Fiesole in Florence or the Royal Academy of Music in London.

András Keller has been coordinating and compiling the programmes of the Arcus Temporum Festival in Pannonhalma. He made his debut as a conductor in February 2003 with the Orchestre di Padova e Veneto. In 2006, in partnership with Dénes Várjon, he launched the Sándor Végh Music Nights and co-founded the Végh Philharmonic.

In the course of his concert tours, he has taken to the stages of nearly all prominent concert halls of the world, such as the Musikverein and the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Royal Albert Hall and the Barbican in London, the Berliner Philharmonie and Konzerthaus, the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center in New York. Furthermore, he has been a guest at various renowned international classical music events, such as the Folles Journée, Bangkok's International Festival and the China Shanghai International Arts Festival

Besides his efforts as a music director, he also acts as the artistic director of various music events initiated by him, among others Concerto Budapest’s Mozart and Beethoven Days, "Listen to Brahms!" series or in recent years, the minifestivals, which are now established celebrations of contemporary music.

Keller's appointment as the head of Concerto Budapest induced a serious change in the life of the orchestra, as, besides their increasing classical repertoire, they also placed a great emphasis on 20th-century and contemporary productions (often in Hungary).

His accomplishments have been not only rewarded with dozens of international honours but with the Liszt Award in 1995; in 2012, the Bartók-Pásztory Prize and the Meritous Artist Award. In 2021, he became the recipient of the Kossuth Prize.

Since January 2016 he is a Professor of Violin at one of the most prestigious musical institutions in the world, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Booklet for Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9