Dmitri Shostakovich’s Concerto for Cello No. 1 in E flat, Op. 107, written in 1959 for the then youthful prodigy Mstislav Rostropovich, is one of the most eloquent of the composer’s works in voicing the anguish he must have felt in Stalin’s Russia, even though it was written six years after the great leader’s death.

Visiting Belarussian-born, French cellist Ivan Karizna’s performance fully conveys the complex emotional states that can be interpreted from Shostakovich’s score. Tall, 34-year-old Karizna is an imposing but humble figure on stage and while his sound can be big and imposing, it can be sublimely subtle and delicate.

Ivan Karizna. Portrait © Lyodoh Kaneko

At first, the opening Allegretto movement seems light and jocular, but it becomes clear that the cello, representing the composer, is haunted and perhaps hunted still. The cello, winds and horn seem to be engaged in a strange dance.

The second Moderato movement opens with a horn announcement introducing a despairing cello theme. Slow and deeply melancholy, the long cello solo is exquisitely delivered by Karizna before an orchestral climax and the return of the horn....