Prelude to a Revolution

In one of his early guest appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic, Andris Nelsons gave an unforgettable performance of Shostakovich’s Sixth in which the vastness of the opening found perfect balance in the playful fire of the final movements. Since then, his series of Shostakovich recordings for Deutsche Grammophon have earned uniformly positive reviews, but his concert appearances in Berlin have tended to focus more on Mahler and Bruckner (including a tremendous Mahler’s Second earlier this season). Yet for his most recent visit to Berlin – and the Philharmonic’s final concert of the regular season – Mr Nelsons made a long-awaited return to Shostakovich with a thrilling performance of the Eleventh that found a direct line to the symphony’s core of tension and terror.

The dark drama of Shostakovich, however, made an odd pairing with…