Shostakovich – Britten. Dialogue

The IV St. Petersburg Music Festival named after S.K. Gorkovenko is held in the Northern Capital from November 24 to December 23. Each year, the festival introduces listeners to new and little-known musical genres, inspiring a rethinking of familiar works.

This year, the program of the IV St. Petersburg Music Festival named after S.K. Gorkovenko is dedicated to several significant dates: the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and the 80th anniversary of the Governor's Symphony Orchestra, founded on May 10, 1945; the 100th anniversary of composer Veniamin Basner and theater and film actor Innokenty Smoktunovsky; the 120th anniversary of directors Grigory Kozintsev, Alexander Faintsimer, and Leo Arnshtam; and the 185th anniversary of Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

On December 14, the concert "Shostakovich – Britten. Dialogue" will combine works by British composer Benjamin Britten from the 1930s with Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 14 for bass, soprano, and chamber orchestra. The two 20th-century musical geniuses not only respected and appreciated each other's work, but also shared a true friendship. Britten dedicated his opera "The Prodigal Son" to Shostakovich, the last of three parable operas written for church performance. Shostakovich dedicated his Fourteenth Symphony to Britten, the first performance of which outside of Russia, at the Aldeburgh Festival in 1970, was conducted by Britten.

PROGRAM:

Britten. Simple Symphony;

Britten. Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra;

Dmitry Shostakovich. Symphony No. 14, Op. 135

PERFORMERS:

Governor's Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: Anton LUBCHENKO;

Soloists: Anna Devyatkina (soprano), Honored Artist of Russia, Yaroslav Petryanik (bass-baritone).

Maltese Chapel, St. Petersburg, December 14, 2025