‘Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège & Letonja’

In his Fifteenth and Last Symphony (1972), Shostakovich takes stock of his life, evoking personal memories in each movement, which he embellishes with quotations from Rossini, Wagner, Glinka or his own compositions. It is the same Shostakovich who with the utmost refinement orchestrated Mussorgsky's Four Songs and Dances of Death, inspired by some revolting social events in 19th century Russia. Evgeny Nikitin will do full justice to this poetic cycle with his warm voice.

Unable to conduct this concert, Michail Jurowski will be replaced by the Slovenian conductor Marko Letonja, a fervent admirer of Shostakovich.