Copland Quiet City              
Weber Clarinet Concerto No.1
Shostakovich Symphony No.5

Shostakovich’s most popular symphony is a two-edged work. On the one hand, it’s immediately accessible, with a devastating slow movement and an exhilarating conclusion. It is also, however, an anguished hymn to the Soviet Russia which brought it forth.

In contrast is Copland’s calm, warm music for the reflective combination of trumpet, cor anglais and strings.

The clarinet, that instrument both dulcet and playful, is rarely as charming as it is in Weber’s delightful concerto. Played by Andreas Ottensamer, Principal Clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic, this is not to be missed.