Today’s No. 1 Hit: Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1

German-Canadian cellist Johannes Moser – hailed by Gramophone as “one of the finest among the astonishing gallery of young virtuoso cellists” – returns to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs at 8pm tonight (August 22) to perform Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with Philadelphia Orchestra , and the above video explains why this particular work means so much to him. Grammy Award-winning conductor Giancarlo Guerrero will lead the orchestra in the program, which also includes two pieces by Tchaikovsky – Waltz from Eugene Onegin and Symphony No. 5.

But if you can’t make it to SPAC – or if your day at the track has left your wallet empty – you can still get your Shostakovich fix tonight. Ironically, the Lake George Festival Symphony Orchestra will also be performing Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 (with cellist Gabriel Cabezas) on a program with Beethoven’s famous Symphony No. 5 at 7:30pm tonight at Shepard Park in Lake George. Admission is free, and the concert will be followed by fireworks.