5 ***** STAR SHOS WITH RESIDENTIEORKEST

Shostakovich 8th symphony, one of the war-symphonies - it just grabs you and won’t let you go. Dark, haunting, powerful, and somehow, painfully relevant to today’s world. Together with Joey Roukens “Night flight” and Bloch’s Schelomo, played by Gary Hoffman, it was a very intense ride in a packed AMARE in Den Haag.

The review in De Volkskrant was raving:

The Eighth Symphony by Shostakovich was equally performed stunningly, relentless and precise, embodying all the crushing war and oppression machinery (Shostakovich often doubles meaning) with hauntingly cold, desolate passages. … However, what truly etched this performance into memory was Hermus’s storytelling strength, weaving all parts of this long symphony into a captivating, deeply human epic.“

5 *****