This CD marks the silver jubilee of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta. Under Lev Markiz, the first artistic director, the orchestra presented numerous national and international premieres by composers including Schnittke, Shostakovich, Ustvolskaya, Port and Denisov. It recently presented world premieres by Gubaidulina, Mansoerjan and Vasks, as well as the west-European premiere of Mieczyslaw Weinberg's Concertino in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in 2009, with the present artistic director Candida Thompson as soloist. This anniversary recording features Weinberg's Concertino and two now world-famous Chamber Symphonies by Dmitri Shostakovich. The three works are not only related by their musical language, but also by a lifelong friendship between the two composers.