Summary: Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Feb 5-6. One of Russia's greatest conductors, Gennady Rozhdestvensky brings a program that pairs Dmitri Shostakovich's first and last symphonies. The lively First Symphony, written when Shostakovich was just 19 years old, reflects the young composer's optimism of the early years in the Soviet Union. His quirky and profound Fifteenth Symphony, written 45 years later, includes references to all of his earlier symphonies along with quotes from Rossini's William Tell and Wagner's Ring Cycle.
