Cello Concertos 1 & 2

Cello Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 are two concertos for cello and orchestra by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, composed in 1959 and 1966 respectively. They feature taut, often abrasive orchestral textures, abrupt contrasts between lyrical and motoric material, and stand as important late-career works that illustrate shifts in his musical language and his responses to the political and cultural pressures of the Soviet era.