Orchestre National de Lyon & Szeps-Znaider

With his Seventh Symphony, Dmitri Shostakovich composed the first of his three war symphonies. It is a monumental work – an average performance lasts more than 70 minutes – which he completed in 1941 after being evacuated from Leningrad. The so-called “Leningrad Symphony" is dedicated to the city that was besieged by German troops from 1941 to 1944, where one and a half million inhabitants died from deprivation and famine. “The music is about terror, slavery, and the oppression of the spirit,” the composer stated. The acclaimed Orchestre National de Lyon performs this gripping work, bursting with emotion and hope, under the direction of Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider. Mozart’s magnificent Piano Concerto No. 25 provides an excellent counterpoint and is in perfect hands with the refined soloist Inon Barnatan.