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I read this cd review in the Telegraph's Saturday magazine this week that mentions that this is the Shostakovich centenary year (he was born in 1906), so that might explain the interest in him:
Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No 1; Violin Sonata
Ruth Palmer (violin), Alexei Grynyuk (piano), Philharmonia Orchestra, cond Benjamin Wallfisch; Quartz QTZ 2045 (CD+DVD), £13·99
One has to admire the entrepreneurial spirit of violinist Ruth Palmer. For most young musicians, a recital disc will suffice for a debut recording, but she has gone out and found the sponsorship to hire the Philharmonia and even the money to make a documentary about the music (on an accompanying DVD). And she has not chosen Mendelssohn or Bruch, but that signature work of the Shostakovich centenary year, his First Violin Concerto.
As such, Palmer immediately sets herself up against the likes of Sarah Chang (EMI), Leila Josefowicz and Daniel Hope (both Warner), all of whom have released recordings of it in recent months. But Palmer’s playing throughout is strongly characterised and, apart from a tendency to gabble in the bravura writing of the scherzo and finale, is technically accomplished.
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It does not quite have the emotional desperation of Hope’s account (my favourite among the three above), but, in collaboration with the Philharmonia Orchestra and conductor Benjamin Wallfisch, Palmer demonstrates commitment and assurance. As a coupling, there is also a highly wrought account of the Violin Sonata with pianist Alexei Grynyuk. Matthew Rye
On a diffferent note, the Swedish electorate have indeed made a shift to the right and deposed the socialist government. Network Europe are examining what this might mean for the Swedish welfare state.
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