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
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
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
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
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
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
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
ELIOT QUARTETT
Musiche di Dmitrij Šostakovič
Eliot Quartett
Maryana Osipova, Alexander Sachs violini
Dmitry Hahalin viola
Michael Preuss violoncello
Assigned Seats € 10
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
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
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
Mimino
Manuel Zurria flauti
Oscar Pizzo pianoforte
Revolutionary Pass
Assigned Seating €10
Musiche di Dmitrij Šostakovič
Eliot Quartett
Maryana Osipova
Alexander Sachs violini
Dmitry Hahalin viola
Michael Preuß violoncello
Gold Carnet
Revolutionary Pass
Assigned Seating €5
MIMINO
Musiche di Kancheli, Silvestrov
Manuel Zurria flauti
Oscar Pizzo pianoforte
Gold Carnet
Pass
Assigned Seating €10
Musiche di Dmitrij Šostakovič
Eliot Quartett
Maryana Osipova
Alexander Sachs violini
Dmitry Hahalin viola
Revolutionary Pass
Assigned Seating €5
Musiche di Charles Ives, Lorenzo Pagliei, Dmitrij Šostakovič
Ars Ludi
Ars Trio
Gold Carnet and Revolutionary Pass
Assigned Seating €10
Musiche di Dmitrij Šostakovič
Eliot Quartett
Maryana Osipova
Alexander Sachs violini
Dmitry Hahalin viola
Revolutionary Pass
Assigned Seating €5
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