Monday, 5 January 2026
Review and prospects
The Shostakovich Year 2025 has come to an end. The 50th anniversary of the death of our namesake was commemorated with many major events around the world, in Leipzig, Paris and most recently in Milan – but also at our 16th International Shostakovich Days in Gohrisch, where we welcomed more visitors than ever before.
Dear association members,
Dear friends of the International Shostakovich Days in Gohrisch,
We now look forward with confidence and anticipation to 2026, which will mark a “small” anniversary: the 120th birthday of Dmitri Shostakovich, whom we will honour at the next festival. This will take place from 25 to 28 June 2026 in the resort municipality of Gohrisch, once again preceded by a special concert by the Sächsische Staatskapelle on the eve of the festival at the Kulturpalast in Dresden (24 June 2026). In addition to Shostakovich’s birthday, the festival will also focus on ‘TACHELES – Year of Jewish Culture in Saxony 2026’, which will highlight Jewish culture and history from a variety of perspectives throughout the year across the State of Saxony.
Jewish influences have also left their mark on Shostakovich’s work in many ways. ’ I think that, in terms of musical influences, it was Jewish folk music that had the greatest impact on me,’ he said in Solomon Volkov’s ‘Testimony,’ presented as his memoirs. His composer friend Mieczyslaw Weinberg, whose music has only been discovered in recent years and has been featured several times in Gohrisch’s programme, played a decisive role in this. Works by Weinberg, Schnittke and Mahler will feature prominently at the next festival, which will also offer another discovery: the music of Belarusian composer Lev Abeliovich (1912–1985), whose family – like the Weinbergs – perished in the Holocaust and who, together with Weinberg, ended up in Moscow via Warsaw and Minsk and also belonged to Shostakovich’s circle. His music is completely unknown outside Belarus, and we are looking forward to performing some of his chamber music works for the first time in Gohrisch.
International Shostakovich Days 2026
Renowned artists have once again agreed to participate in all of these events, including pianists Onute Gražinyte and Yulianna Avdeeva, the Quatuor Danel, violist Nils Mönkemeyer, pianist Rostislav Krimer and the Kremerata Baltica. And, of course, our partner orchestra, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, which received the Shostakovich Prize in 2025, a well-deserved award. Their matinee performance in 2026 will be conducted by Omer Meir Wellber, who is currently enjoying great success as the new General Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera. At least one premiere by Shostakovich will also be on the programme, which will be presented in detail in February 2026.
Special price for advance sales
However, you now have the opportunity to purchase your festival passes in advance. For a special price of €250, you can secure your tickets for all events at the next festival in Gohrisch. Simply send an informal email to tickets@schostakowitsch-tage.de stating the number of passes, your address and your name. Your orders will then be processed by Christiane Mörke and Karsten Blüthgen (managing directors of FEKUSS gGmbH) in the usual manner. This offer is valid until 31 January 2026. After that, the passes will be available in the official advance sale at the normal price. We would be delighted if you would take advantage of this offer again this year.
Recommendations
If you are looking for presents, we would like to recommend our various Shostakovich releases from last year: the CD ‘Shostakovich Discoveries’ from Deutsche Grammophon with several recordings of Shostakovich’s first and world premieres from Gohrisch; or the complete recording of the 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87, with the magnificent Yulianna Avdeeva on Pentatone; in addition, the exciting life story of Irina Antonovna Shostakovich alongside her husband, recorded by filmmaker Elena Yakovich and published by Jaron-Verlag under the title ‘Zu zweit’ (Two); and, of course, the comprehensive Shostakovich exhibition catalogue by Dr Alexander Gurdon, which you can order directly from our website. All these publications were inspired by the Shostakovich Days and were only possible in this form during the anniversary year!
In memory
We would like to take this opportunity to remember those who have left us last year. Among them was the great composer Sofia Gubaidulina, who passed away in March 2025 and was closely associated with us through several world premieres. We also had to say goodbye to our honorary chairwoman Friederike Kübler, who promoted our festival with tireless commitment in its early years and laid the foundations from which we continue to benefit today. We were also deeply saddened by the death of Dr Bernd Feuchtner. As a journalist, he provided a significant initial impulse for our festival in 2005 with an article about Shostakovich in Gohrisch; later, he was an important advisor to us, most recently on the board of trustees.
All that remains is for us to wish you and your families a blessed and peaceful year! Stay healthy, stay confident, and start the new year off in the right way. We look forward to seeing you again or meeting you for the first time at the 17th International Shostakovich Days Gohrisch in 2026!
With warm regards,
Tobias Niederschlag
Artistic Director and Chairman of the Board
