Sentimental Work: Baiba Skride on Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto no.1

I was in my early teens when I first heard Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto. Growing up in Latvia in the 1980s, my sisters and I had no pop or rock music, and when I wanted to release my emotions I’d put on Shostakovich. And at some point, the Violin Concerto became the piece I’d always turn to. I think that many people can underestimate it, because it contains all the facets of human emotion that you can imagine. For me it became a way to feel all the pain and anger I felt as a teenager, as well as all the love…