MARTHA ARGERICH & VERBIER FESTIVAL Orch. G.TACKACS-NAGY dir. SHOSTAKOVICH CONCERTO Op.35 WITH TR

This concerto incorporates and parodies many other musical works. Shostakovich's extensive use of diverse musical quotations was groundbreaking at the time. In album notes, Robert Matthew-Walker writes, "With such a polyglot collection of quotations and influences, only a composer of genius could have moulded this variety into a cohesive whole. The miracle is that Shostakovich succeeded, and constructed a distinctive and indestructible work..." He also notes that the concerto contains a strong element of parody, beginning with a reference to Beethoven's "Appassionata" Sonata, and ending with "an uproarious quotation" of Beethoven's "Rage Over a Lost Penny" and a slice of Haydn's D major Piano Sonata. The work also includes quotations from Shostakovich's own "Hamlet" incidental music Op. 32, and from a revue, "Conditionally Killed" Op. 31. <br />In the second movement Shostakovich presents a parody of a theme from his ballet The Golden Age (1935). In the final movement Shostakovich includes excerpts from his opera Christopher Columbus (1929) and Beethoven's Rondo a capriccio. <br />Shostakovich adds sarcasm with quotations of the Austrian folk song "Ach du lieber Augustin"—Augustin being a character who seems to survive any catastrophe, thanks to his propensity for alcohol. <br />The trumpet solo in the nine bars starting one bar after rehearsal mark 63 is identical to the melody of the folk tune "Poor Jenny".(Wikipedia)