It is no exaggeration to call Shostakovich the greatest symphonist of the 20th century. With three masterpieces by the enigmatic composer, chief conductor Christoph Gedschold and Copenhagen Phil show three sides of Shostakovich's musical diversity: A swinging suite, a terrifying cello concerto and an unexpected symphony.

Shostakovich, Shostakovich and Shostakovich

Konservatoriets Koncertsal

Principal Conductor Ryan Bancroft takes to the podium to conduct the world premiere of Composer-in-Association, Gavin Higgins’ A Monstrous Little Suite from his opera The Monstrous Child, before Håken Hardenberger makes a much anticipated return to BBC NOW for one of the finest concertos of its kind, Weinberg’s playful, suspenseful and witty Trumpet Concerto. With shadows of darkness, to a hobbling waltz, this concerto ingeniously quotes music from some of the most popular works in existence, from Bizet’s Carmen to Stravinsky’s Petrushka, from Mendelssohn’s iconic Wedding March to Mahler’s fifth.

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Shostakovich 6 with Ryan Bancroft

 Brangwyn Hall

BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Still, Shostakovich, Schoenberg

Benaroya Hall

Winners in 2016 of an RPS Award for its world-travelling Shostakovich 15 series, the admired ensemble returns for the substantial Second of the composer’s works for the medium, written in 1944. ‘These are athletic, upfront performances’, wrote Gramophone of the Carducci’s CD containing this particular piece, ‘clear in texture, forthright in tone and bold in articulation’.

Carducci String Quartet

Wigmore Hall

12th Khachaturian International Festival | Armenian State Symphony Orchestra

Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall

Alongside a new work and a trio by another of today's foremost British composers, the Leonore Piano Trio performs Kidane's Flux and Stasis which received critical acclaim in The Times.

Daniel Kidane composer; Leonore Piano Trio

In this latest instalment of the ensemble’s exploration of chamber works by Shostakovich and Weinberg, we hear the Tenth Quartet (1964) of the former and the Eleventh (1965-6) of the latter, alongside his early (1944) Piano Quintet.

Quatuor Danel; François-Frédéric Guy piano

Shostakovich at his most miniature and massive! Almost everyone will recognize the composer’s ubiquitous and haunting waltz that opens the program. The massive Fourth Symphony is not often heard, yet it is one of the composer’s most important works; it was the result of the composer’s first exhilarating contact with the music of Gustav Mahler and is his longest symphony, with the largest orchestra. The Fourth was a new phase in the composer’s development, yet it was withdrawn for nearly 25 years in the face of Stalin’s terrifying intimidation.

Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony

Cañada College

‘The standard is absolutely higher than brass playing has ever been before’, said trumpet virtuoso Alison Balsam, speaking of an ensemble that celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Among the highlights in the programme is a new piece by Roxanna Panufnik, who in May 2023 won a notable success with her contribution to the music at the Coronation of King Charles III.

Septura

Pianist Zee Zee, violinist Esther Yoo and cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan met on the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists’ scheme in 2015 and have gone on to form an ensemble whose name is an acronym for the artists’ initials. The 1952 trio by Armenian composer Arno Babadjanian (1921-83) is widely regarded as a major work for the medium.

Z.E.N. Trio

Friends and colleagues Shostakovich and Weinberg are once again brought together by an ensemble that has been lavishly praised for its recordings of both composers. Weinberg’s works from 1963 and 1964 respectively are succeeded by the second of two Shostakovich examples from the latter year.

Quatuor Danel

Following a long and highly successful career as both a solo and a collaborative pianist, as well as a festival and concert series programmer, Kathryn Stott has decided to step down from public recitals from the end of this year – though many of her other creative activities will continue. Wigmore audiences will be delighted to partake in this special celebration of her exceptional artistry in her last London recital appearance.

Kathryn Stott piano

This programme was initially conceived as part of the Ragged Music Festival, designed as a metaphor or a ritual celebrating the mutual illumination between the two works. It revives and relives the poignant dialogue between Johann Sebastian Bach and Dmitry Shostakovich through their Preludes and Fugues, a music form that is itself intrinsically dialogic in nature, in a way that has never been done before.

Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy piano duo

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Madelyn Kowalski (cello) is no longer available for the above concert. We are grateful to Aaron Wolff (cello) for stepping in as their replacement. The programme remains the same.

IMS Prussia Cove

Season opener with three trio icons. An early stroke of genius by the young Shostakovich meets a stroke of musical luck by the late Schubert and the melancholy-filled "Trio élégiaque No. 1" by Rachmaninoff. Shostakovich was just 17 when he composed his piano trio, which was only published in 1983 from his posthumous manuscripts. Schubert's piano trio is one of his last and most mature works, which, according to Robert Schumann, passed over the musical scene of the time "like an angry celestial apparition." A chamber music series can hardly begin more intensely and sonorous.

Trio élégiaque

Bertramstraße 8

"Shostakovich requires powerful, sharp, cutting playing," says hr chief conductor Alain Altinoglu. And you have to dare to "go to the limits of instrumental possibilities." With the Fourth Symphony, he is now also exploring the limits of what is possible in terms of orchestra size. Dmitri Shostakovich conceived his "Fourth" as "a monumental matter of great thoughts and great passions." The orchestral means are accordingly maximal in all parameters, the composer goes all out. And yet it has become a work of retreat, of immigration, because Shostakovich's life hung by a thread during these years of the Stalinist Soviet dictatorship. A symphony so charged to extremes, with which Alain Altinoglu continues his Shostakovich series, can only be accompanied by a work of quasi-balancing exuberance - the best would be Sergei Rachmaninov's "Paganini Rhapsody", played by the same pianist who also opened the previous season with Rachmaninov. And who "came in as a stand-in", as the FR put it - with some effect: "The audience went a little crazy with enthusiasm."

Shostakovich's retreat

Alte Oper

From its bold and assertive opening phrase to the whimsical and playful finale, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 is one of the most grand and daring work of its generation. First performed in 1798 by Beethoven himself, its origin remains mainly unknown; although we do know that this concerto was actually his second, it just happened to be published first, earning it the title of Concerto No. 1.

Shostakovich 13 with Ryan Bancroft

Wales Millennium Centre

Brangwyn Hall

Alaska Airlines' Winter Classics - Zuill Bailey & Timothy Smith

Anchorage Museum

Fine Arts Building

Join the Sitka Music Festival for our first performance in Wasilla! The evening will present selections from the repertoire below played by Grammy-winning cellist, Zuill Bailey with Timothy Smith, piano & Danielle Talamantes, soprano with Henry Dehlinger, piano. 

Zuill Bailey & Danielle Talamantes in Wasilla

Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Wasilla

UPDATE: We are sorry to announce that Sir Mark Elder is indisposed and will not be conducting tonight at Glasgow City Halls. We are most grateful to Martyn Brabbins who steps in at short notice to conduct the programme as originally advertised.

The Shostakovich Piano Concertos

Glasgow City Hall

New Zealand-born conductor Gemma New makes her Proms debut leading the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Stravinsky’s The Firebird, Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and the European premiere of Samy Moussa’s Symphony No. 2.

Prom 44: Stravinsky’s The Firebird

Royal Albert Hall

Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony is a pulse-raising experience that depicts events of the 1905 Russian Revolution with all the sweep and emotional impact of a film score. The BBC SSO is joined by students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Shostakovich 11: BBC SSO & RCS

Sometimes art imitates life so closely that you can almost feel its breath. “With passion and desire” wrote Tchaikovsky on the slow movement of his Fifth Symphony, and the whole piece is a struggle between love and despair, told in elegant waltzes, bittersweet songs and melody after sweeping melody. Gemma New is always a popular guest conductor here in Scotland, and she knows exactly how to get to the heart of a masterpiece – whether Lera Auerbach’s fiery retelling of the myth of Icarus, or the shadows, secrets and burning truths of Shostakovich’s powerful First Violin Concerto. Rosanne Philippens is the soloist today: a violinist who believes that every note should convey emotion, and forge a connection.

Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony

Imagine...a journey from darkness to light. Struggles between love & despair inspire a pulse-raising masterpiece that stirs the soul.
Sometimes art imitates life so closely that you can almost feel its breath. “With passion and desire” wrote Tchaikovsky on the slow movement of his Fifth Symphony, and the whole piece is a struggle between love and despair, told in elegant waltzes, bittersweet songs and melody after sweeping melody. Gemma New is always a popular guest conductor here in Scotland, and she knows exactly how to get to the heart of a masterpiece – whether Lera Auerbach’s fiery retelling of the myth of Icarus, or the shadows, secrets and burning truths of Shostakovich’s powerful First Violin Concerto. Rosanne Philippens is the soloist today: a violinist who believes that every note should convey emotion, and forge a connection.

Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony in Aberdeen

Music Hall

Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony in Edinburgh

The Usher Hall

Secure one of our three package deals by phone, online or at the Gewandhaus box office and save up to 20 percent compared to individual ticket sales. The concerts can be freely selected from all festival events and are available in various price categories.

Dmitry Shostakovich

Events

Upcoming events

May 8, 2025

Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony · BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

May 9, 2025

Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony in Aberdeen · BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

May 11, 2025

Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony in Edinburgh · BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

May 18, 2025

Nikolaj Szeps-Snaider & Daniil Trifonov · Gewandhausorchester

Past events

Apr 11, 2025

Shostakovich, Shostakovich and Shostakovich · Copenhagen Phil

14 - 15 Feb, 2025

Shostakovich 6 with Ryan Bancroft · BBC National Orchestra of Wales

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