Details

Reflections on music from an earlier age are never far from the surface here. Britten s ?Reflections on a Song of John Dowland masks its source with intricate arabesques and teasing fragments before the original emerges at the work s close, pure and direct. An emotional immediacy too in Shostakovich s heartfelt quintet, whose simple understated introduction for piano alone many have compared to a Bach prelude. A defiantly ebullient scherzo and the finale s restless energy cannot erase the memory of a poignant slow movement and the cool, lyrical restraint of that opening. An extraordinary line-up of musicians, including principal players from Leipzig Gewandhaus and Berlin Philharmonic join forces for music by two composers linked by a mutual admiration and friendship.