BBC Philharmonic Orchestra 2026/27 Season Storgårds conducts Shostakovich

This duality – between outer confidence, and a more inward fear – is a central theme of both of these towering works from the 20th century musical literature.

His String Quartet No. 8, dedicated ‘to the victims of fascism and war,’ was written in just three days, a grave, personal, emotionally charged span of dark hues and arresting vigour. It opens with Shostakovich’s famous four-note musical moniker which reappears regularly, tying tighter the binds between musical expression and autobiography. To perform this exquisitely constructed work, we welcome acclaimed BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists, the NOVO Quartet, to the Bridgewater Hall stage.

Premiered in 1942 and immediately taken up internationally as a sign of solidarity, Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony is the single most enduring musical monument to resistance to Nazi invasion. An invasion theme flies past with juddering intensity, and returns at the close, defeated. From the battling C minor at the opening, to grand, bombastic C major at the close, Shostakovich’s triumphant musical message is extremely clear.

John Storgårds. Photo: Phil Sharp