“The Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 is a very haunting and emotionally powerful piece. The excerpt below starts in the cadenza in the third movement. The cadenza unfolds with the violin repeating the same note, a lonely sound, almost like deep sighs or heartbeats. Shostakovich slowly develops and expands the solo line until it’s playing double, triple and quadruple stops, always building in intensity and speed. After nearly five minutes of the violin playing alone, the entire orchestra joins for the fiery finale, titled: Burlesque. The finale is thrilling, never letting up on its relentless character all the way up to the end. The Shostakovich 1st Violin Concerto is truly one of my favorite pieces to listen to and to perform, and I hope you enjoy our performance of it! ”