Join us in Oxford for this in-person day event and learn more about Dmitri Shostakovich, one of the greatest composers of the Soviet era. His 15 symphonies and 15 string quartets represent a major contribution to those genres and many of them are firmly established in the concert repertoire.
Shostakovich’s creative life was, however, overshadowed by his relationship with the Soviet régime, at least during Stalin’s lifetime. After a promising start to his career, particularly with the great success of his 1st symphony, he spectacularly fell from grace with a series of attacks in Pravda on his opera, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, in 1936. He succeeded in rehabilitating himself with the more conservative style of his 5th symphony but the tensions with the régime remained, with several Stalin prizes but also further denunciations in the years that followed.
Since his death in 1975 many myths have arisen concerning Shostakovich’s music and his relationship with the Soviet state. At this in-person day school the eminent scholar of Russian music, Marina Frolova-Walker, will separate fact from the many fictions that surround Shostakovich’s life and music.
Please note: this event will close to enrolments at 23:59 GMT on 28 January 2026.