Dmitri Shostakovich decided to write his Cello Concerto strongly impressed by Sergei Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante for cello and orchestra op. 125. He only made good his intent after some time, in the summer of 1959. The premiere took place soon after the completion of the score for his Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat major op. 107, on 4 October 1959. Mstislav Rostropovich, the dedicatee of the piece, performed with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Evgeni Mravinsky.
One could say that Rostropovich’s virtuosity and dynamic style are part and parcel of the concerto’s score, bringing together technical brilliance with powerful expression and Shostakovich’s characteristic ability to create music permeated with inner energy and flowing onward with iron consistency. The cello solo exposes the thematic material of the first movement with no orchestral introduction and never eases on its domination, playing almost throughout. It is at first accompanied by the wind section alone; later, the orchestra's accompaniment is also very lucid. A privileged role has been entrusted to the French horn, which at times partners the cello like a solo instrument would. The second movement (Moderato) first develops in a chamber-like aura. After an exposition of the theme by string quintet, the French horn intones a phrase of several bars that will recur after the violently rising gradation achieves the climax in fortissimo as a dramatic cry dwindling into silence. Highly original is the shape of Movement Three, closely connected to its predecessor. This extended solo cello cadenza with typical rhapsodic and improvisational phrases leads straight on to the finale, the unquestioned realm of virtuosic bravado, ideally suited to its rhythmic impetus and its playful themes.

Adam Walaciński