Violin virtuoso joins symphony's new season

The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra opened its 2026-27 season on Sept 11 with a concert marking the 120th anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich's (1906-75) birth.

Under the baton of music director Yu Long, the orchestra performed Shostakovich's Symphony No 1 in F Minor, followed by his Violin Concerto No 1 in A Minor, featuring Greek violin virtuoso Leonidas Kavakos, the orchestra's artist-in-residence for the season.

This performance also marked the launch of a landmark recording initiative. Launched in the 2025-26 season in partnership with Deutsche Grammophon China (DG China), the SSO will perform and record all 15 of Shostakovich's symphonies across four consecutive seasons.

The first complete recordings — Symphonies No 5, 7, 8, and 9 — were released globally on digital platforms on Sept 11. Symphonies No 7, 8, and 9, collectively known as the War Trilogy, were simultaneously issued as a commemorative vinyl LP set.

The Shostakovich symphonies are "among the most important symphonic works of the 20th century, because they span a significant period of history and serve as a mirror reflecting a crucial chapter of world and Russian history during turbulent times," says Christopher Alder, the acclaimed DG producer who, alongside Rainer Maillard, head of Emil Berliner Studios, produced the War Trilogy recordings.

Alder has worked with the SSO several times over the past decade, praising the Shanghai Symphony Hall as "one of the finest recording venues in the world". He also notes a "very special atmosphere" within the orchestra — one he rarely encounters despite his extensive experience with the world's leading ensembles.

He is impressed by the SSO's teamwork and praises the orchestra's ability to control the balance and dynamics in Shostakovich's music. "Shostakovich often presents themes repeated in many different ways to build tension," Alder explains. "An orchestra must trust that the conductor has the vision of how this will develop over a movement — that there is a feeling of a climax and, afterward, real relaxation."

He adds that the SSO "has learned to take risks, because the music should not sound overly controlled. We have to feel that the orchestra is telling us a story and taking us by the hand to show us what is happening. I am very proud of the results from the orchestra and of the excellent sound".

Speaking before the show, Kavakos described Shostakovich as "what Beethoven was in the 18th century". The Greek violinist noted that his music embodies the full spectrum of human values, reminding people that humanity can be both sublime and horrific.

Kavakos rose to international fame after sweeping major global competitions early in his career. His residency with the SSO marks his first collaboration with an Asian orchestra as a resident artist, following tenures with top Western ensembles.

Across the season, Kavakos and the SSO will perform 10 violin concertos spanning over 250 years of string repertoire, from canonical German-Austrian works to newly commissioned pieces.

"Shanghai is the birthplace of classical music in China and has witnessed a century of the country's symphonic development," says Yu. "As one of Asia's oldest symphony orchestras, the SSO has been both a participant and a driving force in this history, as well as a cultural envoy connecting Chinese music to the world."

The complete Shostakovich symphony cycle will be released globally in 2029, coinciding with the SSO's 150th anniversary, making it the first Chinese ensemble to record and release the complete cycle. Backed by DG's international platform, the project will further showcase the artistic caliber of Chinese symphony orchestras to global audiences.