As part of the "Musikstadt :Leipzig" festival landscape, the Gewandhaus will host a festival from 15 May to 1 June 2025 to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Dmitri Shostakovich († 9 August 1975).
The Gewandhaus invites you to one of the most extensive shows of works to mark the 50th anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich's death. The Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the festival orchestra founded especially for the festival under the direction of Gewandhauskapellmeister Andris Nelsons and Anna Rakitina will perform all of Dmitri Shostakovich's symphonies and solo concertos.
A hand-picked line-up of world-class artists will perform the extensive chamber music series, and two performances of the opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at Leipzig Opera under the direction of Andris Nelsons will round off the festival programme.
Three orchestras, one conductor, one conductor
The Gewandhaus Orchestra (GHO) will perform three concerts during the festival under the direction of Gewandhauskapellmeister Andris Nelsons. Andris Nelsons will also conduct the Gewandhaus Orchestra in two performances of the opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk in a production at Leipzig Opera.
In the context of the cooperation with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), which has existed since 2018, the US orchestra will also perform three concerts at the festival under the baton of its Music Director Andris Nelsons. The Gewandhausorchester and the Boston Symphony Orchestra will also perform three concerts as a joint ensemble.
As part of their cooperation, both orchestras will form the "Festival Orchestra" from the ranks of their academies (Mendelssohn Orchestra Academy, Tanglewood Music Center), which will only exist for the festival period and will be reinforced by students from the orchestra of the Leipzig University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" and will perform three times under the direction of Anna Rakitina and Andris Nelsons.
All symphonies and all solo concertos
The programmes of the three orchestras include all fifteen symphonies by Dmitri Shostakovich as well as the six solo concertos for piano, violin and cello. The soloists in the symphony and solo concertos are Daniil Trifonov (piano), Baiba Skride (violin), Gautier Capuçon (violoncello), Thomas Rolfs (trumpet), Kristīne Opolais (soprano) as well as Günther Groissböck and Dmitry Belosselskiy (bass).
Introductory lectures in German (Ann-Katrin Zimmermann) and English (Stephen Johnson) will be offered before all orchestral concerts.
Shostakovich and Leipzig
Leipzig provided a decisive impetus for establishing Dmitri Shostakovich's symphonic oeuvre in international concert life: Between 1976 and 1978, the Gewandhausorchester was the first orchestra in the world to perform all fifteen of Shostakovich's symphonies in a cycle, at that time in conjunction with Beethoven's symphonies. The two-season cycle, which was initiated and largely conducted by Gewandhaus conductor Kurt Masur, attracted international attention and contributed significantly to a more differentiated view of the symphonic composer Shostakovich, who died in 1975.
Shostakovich's music was first heard in Leipzig on 14 November 1929, when Bruno Walter conducted the First Symphony in C minor. Subsequently, the Gewandhaus Orchestra gave the all-German premieres of Symphonies No. 8 (1946), No. 10 (1954) and No. 13 (1974) in Leipzig.
The Gewandhaus invites you to one of the most extensive shows of works to mark the 50th anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich's death. The Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the festival orchestra founded especially for the festival under the direction of Gewandhauskapellmeister Andris Nelsons and Anna Rakitina will perform all of Dmitri Shostakovich's symphonies and solo concertos.
A hand-picked line-up of world-class artists will perform the extensive chamber music series, and two performances of the opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at Leipzig Opera under the direction of Andris Nelsons will round off the festival programme.
Three orchestras, one conductor, one conductor
The Gewandhaus Orchestra (GHO) will perform three concerts during the festival under the direction of Gewandhauskapellmeister Andris Nelsons. Andris Nelsons will also conduct the Gewandhaus Orchestra in two performances of the opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk in a production at Leipzig Opera.
In the context of the cooperation with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), which has existed since 2018, the US orchestra will also perform three concerts at the festival under the baton of its Music Director Andris Nelsons. The Gewandhausorchester and the Boston Symphony Orchestra will also perform three concerts as a joint ensemble.
As part of their cooperation, both orchestras will form the "Festival Orchestra" from the ranks of their academies (Mendelssohn Orchestra Academy, Tanglewood Music Center), which will only exist for the festival period and will be reinforced by students from the orchestra of the Leipzig University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" and will perform three times under the direction of Anna Rakitina and Andris Nelsons.
All symphonies and all solo concertos
The programmes of the three orchestras include all fifteen symphonies by Dmitri Shostakovich as well as the six solo concertos for piano, violin and cello. The soloists in the symphony and solo concertos are Daniil Trifonov (piano), Baiba Skride (violin), Gautier Capuçon (violoncello), Thomas Rolfs (trumpet), Kristīne Opolais (soprano) as well as Günther Groissböck and Dmitry Belosselskiy (bass).
Introductory lectures in German (Ann-Katrin Zimmermann) and English (Stephen Johnson) will be offered before all orchestral concerts.
Shostakovich and Leipzig
Leipzig provided a decisive impetus for establishing Dmitri Shostakovich's symphonic oeuvre in international concert life: Between 1976 and 1978, the Gewandhausorchester was the first orchestra in the world to perform all fifteen of Shostakovich's symphonies in a cycle, at that time in conjunction with Beethoven's symphonies. The two-season cycle, which was initiated and largely conducted by Gewandhaus conductor Kurt Masur, attracted international attention and contributed significantly to a more differentiated view of the symphonic composer Shostakovich, who died in 1975.
Shostakovich's music was first heard in Leipzig on 14 November 1929, when Bruno Walter conducted the First Symphony in C minor. Subsequently, the Gewandhaus Orchestra gave the all-German premieres of Symphonies No. 8 (1946), No. 10 (1954) and No. 13 (1974) in Leipzig.
