Shostakovich's First Piano Concerto features impressive pianistic virtuosity, bold experimentation, satire, and caricatures of different musical styles. The composer wrote it in the summer of 1933, only a few weeks after the completion of his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. He himself called it a "mocking challenge to the conservative-serious character of the classical concert attitude". This concerto in particular demonstrates the immense versatility and magnificent talent of the still carefree 26-year-old Shostakovich. He blends a wealth of musical thoughts and ideas into a colourful and fascinating kaleidoscope. Despite the wealth of different stimuli, the concerto does not seem chaotic or overloaded: the young composer effortlessly maintains the balance.

Shostakovich performed a similar (but this time highly dangerous) balancing act between creative work and conformity to the state in his Ninth Symphony, which premiered on 3 November 1945. Instead of the expected heroic, regime-conformist orchestral thunder along the lines of his Seventh Symphony, the "Leningrad”, the music heard here was playful, without pathos, somewhat witty, full of allusions – yet something did not seem quite right. This musical conundrum, full of ironic refractions and caricatures of melodramatic and triumphant music, was recognised by the censors as a masquerade, yet one that was not easily decipherable. Shostakovich had mocked Stalin without the latter noticing.

Reference recording of Shostakovich's Concerto for Piano and Trumpet (no. 1) together with his Ninth Symphony on Vinyl.

The Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks plays under the baton of its long-time principal conductor Mariss Jansons, a proven expert in the Slavic repertoire.

The internationally sought-after pianist Yefim Bronfman is highly regarded for his exemplary interpretations of Shostakovich's piano concertos. At his side, Hannes Läubin plays the trumpet solo part.

Recording of a Munich concert from October 2012, and one from March 2011 from the Great Hall of the Vienna Musikverein.