Prodigy

“…this is a game that may end very badly.”

With these chilling words, Pravda set the stage for one of the most dramatic chapters in music history. Orchestra Wellington invites you to join us as we explore this gripping story in our upcoming season, The Dictator’s Shadow.

2025 marks the 50th anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich's death. We will commemorate this by tracing the meteoric rise of a teenage wunderkind, celebrated by his country, who eventually faced censure and potential imprisonment, or worse.

Shostakovich was a prodigy. His first symphony (1925) brought him almost immediate worldwide acclaim. It is a precocious work, aware of contemporary modernist style — classical in form but with a sarcastic tone uniquely his. This early work was celebrated as brash genius, giving voice and joy to the social upheavals following the revolution.

Partnering this superb symphony is another great symphony written by a teenager: Bizet’s Symphony in C. Written in 1855 while a student at the Paris Conservatoire, it remained unknown until its 1935 premiere. It’s a paragon of Romantic gesture. Our brilliant concertmaster Amalia Hall will perform the work of another prodigy — Mendelssohn’s exquisite violin concerto, one of the greatest concertos of the 19th century.