Anna Rakitina conducts Shostakovich, Dvořák

BSO Assistant Conductor Anna Rakitina will lead Tanglewood guest soloist Gil Shaham in a concert of works by Shostakovich, Dvořák and Borodin.

Czech composer Antonín Dvořák’s great Violin Concerto, which sings with pungent Czech traditional rhythms and melodies. Three Russian works complete the program.

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Part-time composer and full-time scientist Alexander Borodin wrote his tremendously energetic and popular Polovtsian Dances for his opera Prince Igor, which remained unfinished at his early death.

Two Dmitri Shostakovich rarities demonstrate his fantastic range. Purely for entertainment, the Suite for Variety Orchestra is a mishmash of pieces from various contexts—the Waltz is from his score from the 1955 film The First Echelon.

Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 3, The First of May is a serious work for chorus and orchestra in praise of the Soviet revolution predating Joseph Stalin’s cynical crackdown on artistic creativity, which would have dangerous consequences for Shostakovich. This is the first performance of this piece by the BSO, part of its multi-season traversal of the composer’s complete symphonies.

Ticket includes admission to the 6 p.m. Prelude Concert

Shostakovich — String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110
Borodin — String Quartet No. 2 in D

Valeria Kuchment & Glen Cherry, violins
Mary Ferrillo, viola
Adam Esbensen, cello