Shostakovich Days in Gohrisch meet with great response

The International Shostakovich Days in Gohrisch (Saxon Switzerland) have proven their reputation as an exquisite music festival. It came to an end on Sunday afternoon with a performance by the Danel Quartet (Quatuor Danel). The renowned ensemble, which has its home in Brussels, was met with thunderous applause in the "Concert Barn" in Gohrisch. The four musicians combined Beethoven's 15th String Quartet with Shostakovich's 15th String Quartet and presented themselves in top form despite room temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius.

Festival in Gohrisch almost sold out

The organizer reported more than 3,500 visitors to eight performances and an occupancy rate of around 90 percent at the finale. On the morning of the last day of the festival, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden was awarded the International Shostakovich Prize Gohrisch. This year's festival was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the composer's death. The anniversary was marked by numerous high-ranking artists. Two orchestral concerts with the Kremerata Baltica under the Staatskapelle Dresden rounded off the program.

Premiere of a work that only emerged late

"Once again, many Shostakovich enthusiasts from Germany and abroad attended the concerts in Gohrisch. We are very happy with the way the festival went, which can be seen as a highlight of Shostakovich's activities in this year's commemorative year," said festival director Tobias Niederschlag.

The premiere of the romance "The Nail of Yelabuga" was the first performance of an important late work by Shostakovich, which will hopefully find its way into the international concert repertoire from Gohrisch. The fragment of the work was discovered in the archive in 2019.

Shostakovich visited Gohrisch twice

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century. He left behind a diverse oeuvre with 15 symphonies, instrumental concertos, operas, film music, vocal works and chamber music. His works are an integral part of the worldwide concert scene. He stayed twice in Gohrisch, where there was a guest house run by the GDR government. In 1960, he composed his 8th string quartet here - a very personal work in which he expressed his suffering under the Soviet regime. The Shostakovich Days Gohrisch have been held in cooperation with the Staatskapelle Dresden since 2010.

The 17th edition of the festival is planned for June 25 to 28, 2026 and will once again be heralded by a special concert by the Staatskapelle Dresden on June 24 at the Dresden Kulturpalast.