Mitya and the Others

2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Dmitri “Mitya” Shostakovich. MITO SettembreMusica celebrates the master with performances of some of his best-known and lesser-known compositions. His fifteen symphonies, flaunting a stylistic range that spans neoclassical and modern experimentation, are among the most significant works of 20th-century music. Shaped by his complicated relationship with the Soviet regime, they are characterized by the tension between tradition and innovation. They also reflect personal dramas, political struggles, and a sense of bitter irony.

The festival opens with Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, followed by Symphony No. 9, while the closing performance features Symphony No. 13, a work rarely performed in Italy. A special place is reserved for Symphony No. 10 – a powerful and intense piece composed immediately after Stalin’s death – which will be presented alongside the film Oh To Believe in Another World by South African artist William Kentridge.

The program also includes several chamber music compositions, a “private space” through which Shostakovich’s creative voice was able to express itself without the overbearing constraints imposed by the rigid standards of Soviet aesthetics. Among these is a complete performance of his string quartets by the four young musicians of the Eliot Quartet from Frankfurt – a testament to the composer’s stylistic evolution and his most freely expressed artistic voice.

Complementing Shostakovich’s works, this year’s festival also features music by some of his contemporaries – Russians and non-Russians – many of whom developed their voices within the complex and troubled Soviet universe. They include the Polish composer Mieczysław Weinberg, one of the most important and underrated composers of the 20th century; Georgian composer Giya Kancheli, whose personal style blends minimalism with traditional Georgian music; and Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, whose works arise from protracted reflections on nostalgia, memory and time.

Scheduled events

Torino /

Musiche di Dmitrij Šostakovič, Sergej Rachmaninov, Pëtr Il’ič Čajkovskij

Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala

Mao Fujita pianoforte

Myung-Whun Chung direttore

Gold and Silver Carnets 
Assigned Seating €45 and €35

Milano /
Teatro alla Scala / at

LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
SEONG-JIN CHO
SIR ANTONIO PAPPANO

Musiche di Bernstein, Prokof'ev, Copland

London Symphony Orchestra
Seong-Jin Cho pianoforte
Sir Antonio Pappano direttore

Gold and Silver Carnets
Assigned Seats € 50, € 40

Torino /
Teatro Gioiello / at

Musiche di Clare Grundman, Alfred Uhl, Ferenc Farkas, Gabriel Fauré, Giacomo Puccini

Quartetto Gama

Allievi del Conservatorio Guido Cantelli di Novara

 

Musiche di Ludwig van Beethoven, Fryderyk Chopin, Franz Liszt, Sergej Rachmaninov, Ferruccio Busoni

Matteo Buonanoce pianoforte

Allievo del Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi di Torino

Revolutionary Pass 
Assigned Seating €5

Torino /

Musiche di Gioachino Rossini, Fryderyk Chopin, Dmitrij Šostakovič , Victor de Sabata

London Symphony Orchestra

Seong-Jin Cho pianoforte

Sir Antonio Pappano direttore

Gold and Silver Carnets
Symphony Pass
Assigned Seating €45 and €35

 

Milano /

ORCHESTRA SINFONICA DI MILANO
AMBUR BRAID
SAMY MOUSSA

Musiche di Strauss, Moussa, Šostakovič

Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano
Ambur Braid soprano
Samy Moussa direttore

Gold and Silver Carnets
Assigned Seats € 15, € 10

Milano /
Piccolo Teatro Grassi / at

ELIOT QUARTETT

Musiche di Dmitrij Šostakovič

Eliot Quartett
Maryana Osipova, Alexander Sachs violini
Dmitry Hahalin viola
Michael Preuss violoncello

Gold Carnet
Pass
Assigned Seats € 10

Milano /
Piccolo Teatro Grassi / at

ELIOT QUARTETT

Musiche di Dmitrij Šostakovič

Eliot Quartett
Maryana Osipova, Alexander Sachs violini
Dmitry Hahalin viola
Michael Preuss violoncello

Assigned Seats € 10

Milano /
Piccolo Teatro Grassi / at

ELIOT QUARTETT

Musiche di Dmitrij Šostakovič

Eliot Quartett
Maryana Osipova, Alexander Sachs violini
Dmitry Hahalin viola
Michael Preuss violoncello

Gold Carnet
Pass
Assigned Seats € 10

Milano /
Spazio Teatro 89 / at

MAURIZIO BAGLINI
QUARTETTO DI VENEZIA

Musiche di Šostakovič, Weinberg

Maurizio Baglini pianoforte
Quartetto di Venezia
Andrea Vio, Alberto Battiston violini
Mario Paladin viola
Angelo Zanin violoncello

Gold Carnet
Pass
Assigned Seats € 10

Milano /
Teatro Dal Verme / at

LUZERNER SINFONIEORCHESTER
MICHAEL SANDERLING

Sinfonia n. 10 di Šostakovič con la proiezione del film Oh to Believe in Another World di William Kentridge

Gold and Silver Carnets
Assigned Seats € 15, € 10

Torino /
Teatro Vittoria / at

Mimino

Manuel Zurria flauti

Oscar Pizzo pianoforte

Revolutionary Pass 
Assigned Seating €10

Torino /
Teatro Vittoria / at

Musiche di Dmitrij Šostakovič

Eliot Quartett
Maryana Osipova
Alexander Sachs violini
Dmitry Hahalin viola
Michael Preuß violoncello

Gold Carnet
Revolutionary Pass 
Assigned Seating €5

 

Milano /
Teatro Dal Verme / at

MIMINO

Musiche di Kancheli, Silvestrov

Manuel Zurria flauti
Oscar Pizzo pianoforte

Gold Carnet
Pass
Assigned Seating €10

Torino /
Teatro Vittoria / at

Musiche di Dmitrij Šostakovič 

Eliot Quartett
Maryana Osipova
Alexander Sachs violini
Dmitry Hahalin viola

Revolutionary Pass 
Assigned Seating €5

Torino /

Musiche di Charles Ives, Lorenzo Pagliei, Dmitrij Šostakovič

Ars Ludi

Ars Trio

Gold Carnet and Revolutionary Pass 
Assigned Seating €10

Torino /

Musiche di Dmitrij Šostakovič 

Eliot Quartett
Maryana Osipova
Alexander Sachs violini
Dmitry Hahalin viola

Revolutionary Pass 
Assigned Seating €5

Torino /

Dmitrij Šostakovič
Sinfonia n. 13 in si bemolle minore op. 113

Orchestra e Coro maschile
Teatro Regio Torino
Alexander Roslavets
basso
Enrico Calesso direttore

Gold and Silver Carnets
Symphony Pass 
Assigned Seating €20, €15