Julian Azkoul director

Jessie Montgomery Starburst

Caroline Shaw and the swallow

Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings

Shostakovich Chamber Symphony Op. 110a

United Strings of Europe is a young 12-piece string orchestra making its mark on the international scene.

‘Superbly played … [USE’s] performance is lithe and powerful.’ Gramophone

At the core of this programme lie two emotionally-charged Russian works, written from the heart in tough times.

Tchaikovsky composed his Serenade on return from an extended trip to Italy taken on his doctor’s advice. The music lifts us from exhaustion to elation, from a poignant elegy to rousing Russian folk tunes by way of warm Italian sunshine.

Eighty years later, in 1960, Shostakovich was in Dresden writing music to order for a Soviet film on the Allied bombing in World War II. Against this backdrop, he completed his most personal, moving – and famous – string quartet, No.8, later adapted into the Chamber Symphony.