Shostakovich in Leipzig - A musical celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of his death

There are many links between the Russian Soviet era Dimitri Shostakovich, one of the 20th century’s most inventive and creative composers, and the city of Leipzig. In 1950, on the bicentenary of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach, people gathered in the city from all over the world to pay homage to Germany’s greatest composer, and to see his remains reinterred from their former resting place to the vault of the Church of St Thomas. Shostakovich was one of a 27-strong Soviet delegation sent to attend the celebration. The festivities were preceded by a Bach competition for various categories of performers: violinists, pianists, singers, harpsichord players and organists. Shostakovich arrived ahead of the delegation as he was appointed to the jury of the Piano competition. Here the first prize winner Tatyana Nikolayeva was presented with both volumes of Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier, a work particularly dear to Shostakovich, who had learned it by heart at the age of 12. A pianist of great accomplishment, he had at one time seriously considered a career as a performer.

During the festival, the conductor Kirill Kondrashin performed Shostakovich’s first Symphony, which the composer attended. But most of his time was taken up going to the ceremonies, giving a public lecture about Bach, and watching live performances, which he loved. The Leipzig experience was an inspiration to Shostakovich. In the autumn of that year he started work on his own cycle of 24 Preludes and Fugues, which he completed in early spring of 1951. When the cycle was auditioned by the Union of Composers, Shostakovich’s new work was criticised for its “formalist”, “anti-people” ideology. “Who are you writing for, Comrade Shostakovich?” was the frequent rebuke. Such were the complex and uncomfortable times in Soviet culture in the final years of Stalin’s reign. Yet, in spite of the efforts made to silence him, Shostakovich had the determination to keep composing. Now the city of Leipzig honours this great 20th-century composer marking his own anniversary, in one of the most comprehensive programmes to examine his works.

Beyond the concerts, guided walks and visits investigate Leipzig’s heritage and the musical history of the city, which encompasses not only the Bach family but also Telemann, Robert and Clara Schumann, Mendelssohn, Wagner, Mahler and Kurt Masur. There is time to enjoy the excellent museums – the Fine Arts Museum, the radically refurbished Museum of Musical Instruments and the rejuvenated Bach Museum.