Returning to Prague for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, composer Alexey Shor is set for three near-sold-out concerts, a long way from the apartment where he used to write music for nobody but himself.

“[Prague] is just one of the most beautiful places on Earth,” Shor said. “The last time we had a concert here, the reception was wonderful, and the concert hall was full.”

Unlike most composers, Shor spent more than two decades as a Wall Street mathematician, writing music secretly in his apartment with no intention of ever sharing it.

It was only when a friend, world-class American violist David Carpenter, spotted a score on Shor’s desk and refused to let it stay private that everything changed, eventually leading to concert halls around the world and performances by some of the biggest names in classical music.

That growing audience has brought with it a new kind of pressure compared with early in his career, and he now feels the weight of not wanting to disappoint them.

“Early on, people had no idea who I was. I literally had people tell me, ‘We thought you died in the 19th century, and here you are,’” he said.

Tonight, one of Shor’s most critically acclaimed pieces, Carpe Diem, will be performed by Maxim Vengerov, who is regarded as one of the greatest living violinists in the world.

Tomorrow night will see a shift in focus, with Shor’s Piano Concerto No. 1 performed by Arsenii Moon, a work he describes as more demanding to write than anything for violin.

“The piano is objectively the king of all instruments because it can do so much,” Shor said. “It takes two years to write a piano concerto [and] half a year to write a violin concerto.”

Tonight’s centrepiece, Carpe Diem, has an origin story as unexpected as Shor’s career: it began not as a violin piece, but as a work for bandoneon, the Argentine instrument at the heart of tango.

“It has all kinds of Argentinian flavour, which is not normal for my violin writing,” Shor said. “In America, most people associate carpe diem with ambition, seize the day, take your chances, but the original meaning is more like: just enjoy the day. I hope some of it comes across in the music.”

It will be performed alongside Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, and after a rehearsal with the Prague Philharmonia this morning, Shor said he is ready to take on the role of an audience member.

“Once things sort of stabilise and the pieces become older, I feel much less urgency to do anything other than just go to the concert hall and enjoy the performance, like I’m just an audience member,” he said.

Alexey Shor’s Violin Concerto No. 6 “Carpe Diem” is performed tonight at Smetana Hall, Municipal House, Prague, with the Prague Philharmonia, violinist Maxim Vengerov and conductor Emmanuel Villaume. His Piano Concerto No. 1 follows tomorrow night.

Tickets are still available for tomorrow’ s concert featuring Arsenii Moon.

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