Lawrence Power: Shchedrin

The Strad Issue: June 2026

Description: A celebration of the range of an iconoclastic voice

Musicians: Lawrence Power (viola) Turku Philharmonic Orchestra/Olli Mustonen

Works: Shchedrin: Music for strings, oboes, horns and celesta; Shepherd’s Pipes of Vologda; Concerto dolce; Frescoes of Dionysios

Catalogue number: ONDINE ODE1408-2

The music of Rodion Shchedrin, who died just last year aged 92, defies conventional categorisation. His style offers an eclectic mix of influences, Neoclassical in timbre, yet also embracing Expressionist elements. Dissonance is piquant but his language always remains accessible. Lawrence Power fully embraces the expressive elements in the Concerto dolce. There’s a delicate fusion of timbres between the orchestra and soloist, vibrato width and speed hugely varied to maximise fluctuating colour even on a single note. Shchedrin also deploys sul ponticello, col legno and frenzied tremolandos within his compelling sound world, while the viola line is by turns edgy, soulful and forthright. This quicksilver emotional tapestry is vividly depicted by Power and Mustonen.

A strong vein of folk-inspired material is notable in the other works, not least Shepherd’s Pipes of Vologda, which employs annotated folk music from this particular region of Russia. Similarly, the Frescoes of Dionysios reflect a monastic austerity in the sounds, with ethereal incantations adorned with gentle dissonances that reference the Russian Orthodox musical tradition.

Shchedrin’s ‘Music for strings, oboes, horns and celesta’ comes from his ballet The Lady with the Lapdog, and moves from passion and longing to reflection, although cast in his trademark lean textures. Mustonen brings colourful clarity to the ensemble, exploring this intense emotional range with complete empathy.

Joanne Talbot