The soloist for this concert was Irish pianist Barry Douglas, whose relaxed approach to Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No.2 made light of its fiendish rhythmic demands. Its central slow movement is some of the saddest music the composer wrote, but the opening is playful and jazzy, and that bluesy feel returns in the dialogue the piano has with the cello section later. Douglas and Uryupin were both alive to the contrasts in the work in what was a vibrant partnership.
Publication: The Herald
Author: Keith Bruce
Date: 15 October 2018
Venue: Usher Hall, Edinburgh
Programme: Shostakovich Piano Concerto no.2
