Saraste conducts Shostakovich

In Shostakovich’s gripping Eighth there are few conductors that dare to stare so intently into the abyss as Jukka-Pekka Saraste. ‘Incomparable,’ wrote the reviewer of The Times about Saraste’s interpretation. ‘I was an emotional wreck by the end.’ To prepare the listener for it (and to get the snare drum warmed up), the symphony is preceded by the rollercoaster of emotions and moods of Nielsen’s breathtaking Clarinet Concerto.