Steven Isserlis & Connie Shih

Friendship gives rise to the finest, most personal music. That is proven by these four composers. Each of their works was created for and dedicated to a close friend. In this amicable programme, Steven Isserlis builds a bridge between St. Petersburg, Moscow and Paris. But these works’ geographic origin is actually less important than their unshakeable shared foundation: Ludwig van Beethoven. By harking back to an ultra-German sonata form in France, Onslow set himself outside the French mainstream. With his clear, expressive sonata, Shostakovich, on the other hand – worried about his position in Soviet Russia - was probably trying his level best to fit in, much to the annoyance of Western avant-garde. Steven Isserlis, who was recently our guest in Bruges for his own Domain, draws on all of his musicality for this extraordinary portrait of his instrument. Discover how the cello could radically change its identity in just half century.