Shostakovich Sonata No.2 Mov1 and 2. Valentina Lisitsa

We all wonder from time to time how things look on "other " side" , but resign to the thought that nobody came back from "there" to tell us how things are. With a few exceptions...
Dante had created his own , albeit imagined , Inferno. Shostakovich descended a real inferno, lived through it and came out alive to tell the story , to bear a testimony to the hell on earth. What else can you call it when people -- bright , thinking , loving people -- millions of them - are sentenced to living on 125 grams a day of 50% sawdust bread ration ( and only those able-bodied or well-connected ) , then to eating their pets and pests, belts and shoes ( with scraped off the walls wallpaper paste being an exquisite delicacy ) , then -- their dead , and then -- their living...
This September ( 8th- 21st ) marks 70th anniversary of beginning of Siege of Leningrad, one of the deadliest and darkest episodes in the history of European civilization (if you can still call it a "civilization"). This magnificent city rightly called Venice of the North , a cradle of modern Russia, a hotbed of progressive thought, a showcase of best in Russian art, music, literature -- predestined to the most cruel of death of starvation by two tyrants, dictators -- who despite being on opposing sides of a war , shared a common hatred of humanity. In 900 days of the siege , 1 500 000 people died -- out of population of 2.5 million. Shostakovich , abandoned as the rest of population of Leningrad , lived through it and continued composing. His 7th, "Leningrad" Symphony -- sheet music smuggled across the enemy lines and performed around the globe , was a call of defiance , a promise of eventual victory, of imminent triumph of life over death.
There is nothing triumphal about this sonata. Instead, it is a sad and subdued reflection, a testimony of a witness to an abyss of human suffering and death. Everything is warped here: a waltz turns into a funeral procession, usually "happy" major key episodes are the most sinister and menacing...
First movement is full of foreboding and unease. There are two main themes here . The opening one - in a minor key, rather sad and very sincere . The second theme , in a blazing major key , reminiscent of those awful Soviet-era patriotic marches. If only you can call music "creepy", this theme is a definition of it.
Second movement is a slow and unsteady waltz, constantly on a verge of falling apart. It is more a reminiscence of happier times than a real dance. Waltz bore a special significance in lives of people. It was waltz that commenced a graduation from school , it was waltz that was a first dance at the wedding....In the middle of the movement waltz gives way to bone-chilling half-march half-sarabande theme. You can hear steps of funeral procession , except those steps are hesitant and halting: just like in the "iconic" Leningrad documentary videos of starvelings dragging their deceased in makeshift sleds to common pits while those still alive walk by unfazed.
Third movement to follow...

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[germy1355]

@ValentinaLisitsa hello again, anyway I will try to contact the orchesta but I don´t garanty nothing, because I lived near the capital, so I would rather prefer if you are going to "Palacio Nacional" or to the "Conservatorio Nacional de musica de México" well that´s my opinion, just visit Mexico again please I beg you

[ValentinaLisitsa]

@germy1355 I will try from my side also .

[brunopiccinin]

Excellent, I don't know why but this sonata suits you perfectly.

Just saw on your website that you are going to be in Argentina on november for 2 solo recitals, I'm so jelous. Sao Paulo, Brazil is so near... I don't know whether the country/state/city must contact you for a recital or you do it on your own, but, anyway we are always waiting for you with open arms.

[ValentinaLisitsa]

@brunopiccinin I jsut came from Sao Paulo and Rio last month . But the concert was on a very short notice so i guess there was not much announcement. I think next year will be soemthing of a recital in Rio.

[donnellobrien]

The depth of your playing has created the inevitable result of being face-to-face with Shostakovich himself. And I am in awe. Again.

[ValentinaLisitsa]

@donnellobrien thank you , thanks very much !

[ValentinaLisitsa]

@AEP517 So , it means - I have to go back to Quebec City and play in the same hall. I agree :-))))) Anybody from Quebec listening ????? LOL Seriously , it would be great ...

[Hobott]

Just amazing and priceless - your music, descriptions, comments, answers, - that's just priceless- you're a bright mind, with deep knowledge and sensitivity - such a richness - you're unique!

[fenderbender92]

@BloodlineMedia And how can you tell historical facts from lies?

[ander2365]

@ValentinaLisitsa Valentina, please, come more frequently to latin america. and... your hair looks just like this piece. hehehe. i'm just kidding.

[BloodlineMedia]

@MrTrevor631 Fools are people who restate historical lies and imaginary statistics because someone told it to them in a classroom once. The highest level of interpretation does not consist of playing something too fast so people like you can mistake it for virtuosity.

[MrTrevor631]

@BloodlineMedia  That will be good riddance !

This highest level of musical interpretation and virtuosity is not for crass fools, who have no understanding.

[PeterPianoXiong]

Can I have lessons? (Just a joke, not really.)

[mugargusci]

@ValentinaLisitsa. I do know for certain that in my life, few times I have found so much beauty and virtuosity as in you. I dare to say that You are a jewel of the human race. You are a clear sign that we were created to the image and likeness of God. Long life fair lady!

[belegSJ]

@BloodlineMedia Geez, someone is a bit melodramatic... LOL

[werkzeug0]

@hartistry "прекрасный Дэвид Харт"

хуясе ты скромный, хехе

[PBAhero]

I'm finding *much* more nuance, detail, and devastating emotional intensity in this version than the one I own by Ashkenazy (Decca, 2004), although the tempi are probably quicker. I think you will cause me to appreciate this work to a greater extent.