Shostakovich provocando [Provoking Shostakovich] is Sinfónica de Tenerife’s third subscription concert, which is to be held on Friday the 1st under the baton of its honorary conductor, Víctor Pablo Pérez. Apart from playing Dimitri Shostakovich’s Symphony nº9 for the first time, the orchestra will interpret Cervantina by Juan Durán and Edward Elgar’s Polonia.

This new concert by the Cabildo’s orchestra appeals to sensitivity and humane inspiration both in the case of the Russian maestro, who understood that victory can also be translated into the language of music and taken down a luminous path; and in that of Polonia which provided sound relief for Polish refugees during the First World War.

Cervantina, never played before on the island, is a symphonic suite about popular Spanish topics, composed by Juan Durán and commissioned by Fundación BBVA, which was premiered in September 2016. It refers to national cultural and musical tradition and starts solemnly with Folías de España variations, which are interspersed throughout the work. It dreamily travels across different regions and characters like “Tres morillas” in a clear tribute to poet Federico García Lorca. Nostalgia is also present in the work by means of dialogues between wind, wood, strings and the harp.

Also played in Tenerife for the first time is the piece Polonia by English composer Edward William Elgar. The composer, inspired by the dramatic events of the First World War, wrote this score appealing to patriotic feelings. Given the political situation and the border clashes of this European country, the compositional work of its maestros was exceedingly complicated and musical support had to be sourced abroad. Elgar uses different Polish national melodies, like the Warszawianka, introduced by the bassoon and the bass clarinet. This melodic motif will act as a joining point throughout the work which also features homages to Paderewski and Chopin, from whom he borrows the melody of the Nocturne in G minor which on this occasion, is played by the soloist violin.

Dimitri Shostakovich’s Symphony nº 9 in E-Flat major, op.70 swings from a patriotic homage and a provocation to Soviet official authorities, who listened to the premiere on 3 November 1945 in Leningrad. They expected a symphony that celebrated Stalin’s victory over Hitler’s troops. Despite political pressures, the maestro kept his ability to preserve his musical self against destructive forces.

It is a compact, satirical, and somewhat melancholy symphony in five movements. The first one is close to the Neoclassical model, starting with a joyful, youthful theme displayed by the strings in constant dialogue with woodwind instruments. The overflowing energy and the notes of the trombone break into the sound discourse.

A solo clarinet opens the second movement with a theme loaded with subtle, intimate chromatism that evolves in counterpoint with a second voice, thus creating an atmosphere of a certain moving concern. Dotted with winding strings, the main theme returns interpreted by the piccolo.

The last three movements, which follow one another with no interruptions, have very different patterns. The energy of the presto is in contrast with the solemn entry of the brasswind largo. A single introspective, the deep bassoon turns into a humoristic passage that leads to the final allegretto. Simplicity and humour develop into tension with some animato and rather than evolving into a heroic, triumphant final theme, it ends in the brilliant and satirical celebration of an allegro played with the tambourine.

Tickets for this subscription concert can be purchased at the box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm Monday to Thursday and on Friday from 5:30 pm on; by telephone on 902 317 327 or via the internet www.sinfonicadetenerife.es and www.auditoriodetenerife.com.