Voices Within: Tchaikovsky & Shostakovich

Both Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich believed music could carry what words could not. For Tchaikovsky, that meant laying emotion bare; for Shostakovich, speaking in coded truths shaped by fear and restraint. Shostakovich’s deeply personal First Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s searching Fourth Symphony invite listeners into two private worlds, where meaning unfolds through sound, tension, and release.

• Vítězslava Kaprálová, one of the first Czech women to gain recognition as a composer and conductor, emerged as a striking voice in interwar Central Europe, blending modernist energy with Slavic lyricism. Her prolific career was cut short at the early age of 25.
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky often reflected on the divide between private life and artistic expression, saying, "An artist lives a double life: an everyday human life and an artistic life, and the two do not always go hand in hand.”
• Dmitri Shostakovich completed his First Violin Concerto in 1948, but withheld it until 1955 amid Soviet cultural censorship.
• Vadim Gluzman, Artist in Residence at Peabody Conservatory, is internationally recognized for performances that span core repertoire and new music.

• Approximate run time: 2 hours with a 20-minute intermission.
• Late seating is not guaranteed, and will happen at the discretion of the front of house manager.
• Many Classical concerts include brief onstage remarks from the conductor and select performances feature pre-and post-concert talks.
• Come as you are. You'll see everything from casual to cocktail attire.