Stravinsky: Divertimento - Shostakovich: Violin Sonata

The Divertimento for violin and piano by Stravinsky was written in 1932 as an arrangement of his ballet Le Baiser de la Fee. The sonata for violin and piano by Shostakovich was composed in 1968 on the occasion of Oistrakh’s 60th birthday. The two pieces could hardly be more disparate: Stravinsky’s work is a spirited homage to Tchaikovsky, whereas the Shostakovich is profound and mysterious. Both works, however, share a preference for an allegorical idiom and symbolism.