Members of the CMC community recently filled the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum for the first concert of the 2024-25 season, a performance by YooJin Jang and Sheena Hui ’19, “Subtext in Soviet Music.”
This year’s Ath concert series, “In Freundschaft—In Friendship,” celebrates music that “recognizes the value of our collaborative human existence, including music dedicated to friends, music that depicts loneliness and companionship, and collaborative music-making.”
Jang, a distinguished concert violinist, who holds the prize for the 2017 Concert Artists Guild Competition and the 2016 Sendai International Competition, was joined by Hui, a professional pianist who has performed many solo and chamber recitals in Hong Kong, Europe, and across the United States.
The evening began with a stunning performance of the Mozart Violin Sonata in F Major, K. 376, emphasizing the series’ celebration of friendship and collaborative human existence. The deep, resonating tone of the music washed over the crowd, as every head turned to the front of the room, collectively enchanted by the Sonata. However, this was only the beginning.
Hui came to the podium and set the scene for the hallmark of the evening: Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich’s Violin Sonata Op. 134. The Sonata represented the Soviet censorship that closely affected Shostakovich’s career and music. Over the course of his career, Shostakovich went from being officially denounced by the state, while his colleagues were executed or imprisoned, to being the most celebrated composer in the Soviet Union. As such, Hui explained Shostakovich’s use of irony and subtext in his music to navigate his feelings of uncertainty.
Jang explained, “The music screams, whines, and some have speculated that it might reflect a Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. This chaos represents a really overwhelming and inescapable tension.” Indeed, the entire audience sat spellbound and speechless, as some individuals sat with their mouths slightly agape. The intensity and rate at which Jang and Hui played was at such a frantic, heart-fluttering pace, that it was almost difficult to breathe.
“The Sonata is full of subtle, hidden layers of meaning, and the irony, personal pain, and unspoken conflict Shostakovich experiences under Soviet rule,” Jang said.
After the performance, Jang and Hui were met with a huge, rippling applause from a stunned audience.
Nur Yilmaz ’28, a Government major at CMC said, “The performance itself was so awesome, I want to thank them for coming here. At one point, I almost forgot to breathe because of how encapsulating the experience was. And I think that’s what Shostakovich is trying to achieve here!”
Athena Ke ’26, a junior studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, said, “When it comes to classical music, I sometimes shy away. Because I didn’t understand the context or nuances, I thought it was not for me. But tonight’s experience was totally different. After Sheena Hui explained the personalities of Dmitri Shostakovich, the subtext instantly made sense to me. Once a distant topic difficult to understand, this classical piece unfolded itself. It was a great educational experience.”