Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony
Founded in 2011 by Poland's Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the I, CULTURE Orchestra brings together exceptional young musicians from the former Soviet and Eastern Bloc states of Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Kirill Karabits Conductor
Panufnik Sinfonia elegiaca
Shostakovich Symphony No 7 ‘Leningrad’
Under the charismatic young Ukrainian conductor Kirill Karabits, the orchestra performs two immensely powerful symphonies that cry out against the brutality of war.
Shostakovich wrote his impassioned 'Leningrad' Symphony during the gruelling 900-day Nazi siege of the city, and its thrillingly dramatic music for a spectacularly huge orchestra has come to symbolise the triumph of the human spirit in times of conflict. The lyrical Sinfonia elegiaca by Polish-born composer Andrzej Panufnik is a poignant expression of consolation for all victims of war.
There's no doubting the orchestra's amazing verve and enthusiasm
The Arts Desk
Karabits: 'an energising presence'
The Daily Telegraph
Kirill Karabits Conductor
Panufnik Sinfonia elegiaca
Shostakovich Symphony No 7 'Leningrad'