For the first time, the Belgian National Orchestra in partnership with Bozar organises a four-day festival, in which symphonic concerts are complemented by chamber music, lectures and a youth project. One composer is at the heart of this festival: Dmitri Shostakovich. Uniquely, not only will we perform two concerts ourselves (the highlights being the Eleventh and Thirteenth Symphonies, both conducted by Hugh Wolff), but we will also welcome our colleagues from: the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège. They complete the ambitious festival programme with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 15.

In a lecture based on his personal research, Professor Francis Maes, an authority on Russian music, will discuss the meaning of Shostakovich’s work in its historical context. The festival begins with a symphonic concert and ends with chamber music: on 27 February the piano phenomenon Igor Levit plays Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues. The Young Belgian Strings are joined by several musicians from the Belgian National Orchestra to play Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony. As well as Symphonies Nos. 11 and 13, we also perform the Piano Concerto No. 1 (with Lucas Debargue and Leo Wouters as soloists) and the Cello Concerto No.1 (with soloist Truls Mørk). With Symphony No. 15, our colleagues from Liège play a programme that is no less revolutionary.

On the program

• 25/2 – 18h30 – Musical instruments museum: De la révolte politique à la révolution musicale : comprendre Shostakovich aujourd’hui (lecture by Ruben Goriely, UCL – only in French)
• 25/2 – 20h – Bozar: Belgian National Orchestra & Lucas Debargue
• 26/2 – 20h – Bozar: OPRL, Michail Jurowski & Evgeny Nikitin
• 27/2 – 11h – Bozar: Young Belgian Strings
• 27/2 – 14h – Musical instruments museum: Komt Dmitri Shostakovich dichterbij? (lecture by Francis Maes, UGent – only in Dutch)
• 27/2 – 15h – Bozar: Belgian National Orchestra & Truls Mørk
• 27/2 – 20h – Bozar: Igor Levit

The Shostakovich Festival starts tomorrow at Bozar !  We offer you a preview with a series of podcasts about the festival. Tune in now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.