Tales of a feminist heroine and the struggle with sexuality in the Philharmonic

The final concert of the Belgrade Philharmonic’s “Darkness” series, conducted by our regular guest conductor Daniel Raiskin, will be held at Kolarac Hall, on Friday, 31 May, at 8:00 p.m. The program is a powerful combination of the works of Shostakovich, Schnittke and Tchaikovsky. Appearing with the Belgrade Philharmonic for the first time is solo violist Tatjana Masurenko.

With this last concert in the series, the dark side of human existence reaches its musical culmination. Opening the concert is the suite from the opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District by Dmitri Shostakovich, following the story of a young female adulterer who kills her husband, his father, and his nephew. It is interesting that Shostakovich turned the main character into a kind of feminist heroine, who committed these crimes in order to free herself from male domination. A performance of this piece, attended by Stalin, who walked out full of revolt, led the composer into a deep darkness of rejection for the next 25 years.

Unfortunate life circumstances also influenced the creation the Viola Concerto by Alfred Schnittke, which the composer wrote during the most crucial period of his life. This composition immediately achieved great success, partly thanks to the famous Yuri Bashmet, to whom it was dedicated. The audience will have the opportunity to hear the Belgrade Philharmonic with Tatjana Masurenko, one of the world’s leading violists, with her distinctively expressive style.

Concluding the concert is the Symphony No. 4  by P. I. Tchaikovsky, sometimes referred to as “Fate.” The author began work on this symphony in the last months of his marriage and it represents his struggle with his sexual orientation and his depression. That is why the entire work is permeated by the metaphor of destiny, the fatal power that prevents us from achieving happiness.

One hundred standing tickets will be on sale at the Kolarac Box Office from 7:00 p.m., one hour before the concert.