Saturday, September 26 • 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Don’t miss this thrilling program of orchestral masterworks with Apollo Ensemble of Boston!
“I did depict Stalin in music in my next Symphony, the Tenth… No one has yet guessed what the Symphony is about. It’s about Stalin and the Stalin years.” – Dmitri Shostakovich
Violent, haunting, and tragic, Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony is a terrifying testament to the grim reality of life under Stalin’s regime. Many of Shostakovich’s own friends and colleagues were disappeared at the hands of the murderous dictator, and the composer himself lived in constant fear of suffering the same fate. The symphony’s savage second movement scherzo, generally considered to be a portrait of the dictator and his henchmen, conjures their brutality in visceral detail. Completed and premiered shortly after Stalin’s death, the symphony gives a voice to the many souls who were silenced before perhaps defiantly celebrating the tyrant’s demise in its final moments.
First Church Cambridge
11 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Program:
Luciano Lopez-Parnetti – World Premiere
Schumann – Cello Concerto (Eric Schindler, Soloist)
~Intermission~
Shostakovich – Symphony No. 10
Artists:
| Conductor | Elias Miller |
| Composer | Luciano Lopez-Parnetti |
| Cellist | Eric Schindler |
We will also hold an OPEN REHEARSAL for this program Thursday, Sep 24th, 2026 at 7:00PM in First Church Cambridge.