From September 22 through 27, Eastman’s halls will resound with the music of Dmitri Shostakovich!

Joining a worldwide celebration of concerts and events honoring his birthday on September 25, Eastman brings Shostakovich’s vast and complex legacy to life in a weeklong celebration. Audiences are invited to explore the full spectrum of his music and to experience not only his artistry, but also the resilience and contradictions that shaped his voice.

Fifty years after his death, Shostakovich’s works continue to inspire performers and audiences alike. “It is a privilege to be able to devote a week to presenting concerts which help audiences understand the language of a great composer,” says Eastman Professor of Violin Renée Jolles.  “His music is increasingly more relevant and alive than ever.”

That enduring vitality will be on full display throughout the week, as Eastman musicians trace Shostakovich’s journey across symphonies, sonatas, and chamber works—each program offering a different lens on the formidable body of work he left behind.

Monday, September 22, 7:30 PM in Kodak Hall

The celebration begins when the Eastman Philharmonia takes to the stage with Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47, led by Professor of Conducting and Ensembles Neil Varon. A cornerstone of Shostakovich’s symphonic output, the work has long held a special place at Eastman. When Kodak Hall reopened after extensive renovations in 2009, Varon and the Philharmonia marked the occasion with this very symphony. “The love that the students give this piece, which gets handed down from class to class, is quite astounding,” Varon says. “The underlying tone of protest and sadness, culminating into an insistent striving for freedom speaks to the students very clearly.”

Tuesday, September 23, 7:30 PM in Kilbourn Hall

Associate Professor of Piano Alexander Kobrin joins three colleagues for an intimate exploration of Shostakovich’s sonatas. With Assistant Professor of Violin YooJin Jang, he will perform the Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major, Op. 134; with Associate Professor of Viola Masumi Per Rostad, the Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 147—Shostakovich’s final composition, completed just weeks before his death; and with Associate Professor of Violoncello David Ying ’92E (DMA), the Cello Sonata in D Minor, Op. 40. Kobrin’s Faculty Artist Series concert also includes the Piano Trio No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 8, written more than a century ago when the composer was only 16.

Born in Russia, Kobrin says of his affinity for Shostakovich, “My heritage, my family history, my intimate connection with his music was instant and almost spiritual. I have played his music all my life, and I hope to continue sharing that connection with the audience.”

FACULTY GET INVOLVED: The Shostakovich Celebration features many of Eastman’s faculty, including, from left to right, top to bottom: Renée Jolles, Neil Varon, Alexander Kobrin, Masumi Per Rostad, YooJin Jang, and David Ying

Wednesday, September 24, 7:30 PM in Kodak Hall

Varon returns with the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra (ESSO) for Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 70, paired with works by Mozart and Rimsky-Korsakov. Chosen for its parallels to pieces ESSO musicians have tackled in the past, the Ninth offers no shortage of challenges. “The many soloistic woodwind and brass passages, which demand both technical skill and musical color, make it interesting to play and interpret,” Varon says.

Originally expected to be a monumental wartime symphony in the tradition of Beethoven and Mahler, Shostakovich’s Ninth instead defied expectations. “The Ninth Symphony was supposed to be a large, ‘important’ work to celebrate the conclusion of World War II,” Varon explains. “But it turned out differently and became a lightly sarcastic, funny work with some somber touches. Somehow Shostakovich always seems to hover between a truly comical sense of humor—almost circus-like—and a deep sorrow stemming from the political climate.”

Thursday, September 25, 7:30 PM in Kilbourn Hall

On Shostakovich’s birthday, Professor of Violin Mikhail Kopelman continues a tradition he began decades ago as first violinist of the Borodin String Quartet in Moscow: commemorating the composer through performance. For his Faculty Artist Series, Kopelman will be joined by Yoojin Jang, Masumi Per Rostad, Alexander Kobrin, and cellist Ahrim Kim of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for a program featuring string quartets and the Piano Trio No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 67.

Written in memory of Shostakovich’s close friend, the Russian polymath Ivan Sollertinsky, the trio was nearly left unfinished as the composer wrestled with grief. Its emotional force is undeniable: the music blends private sorrow with the horrors of war, moving from the slow, contemplative first movement to a dramatic climax.

EVERYONE’S INVITED: As the week continues, more faculty get involved, including, from left to right, top to bottom: Mikhail Kopelman, Phillip Ying, Elinor Freer, Marina Lomazov, Michael Wayne, and Irina Lupines.

Saturday, September 27, 7:30 PM in Kilbourn Hall

The week concludes with Eastman Virtuosi presenting from Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues, No 1 in C Major, No 2 in A minor and the Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57, alongside Galina Ustvolskaya’s Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano. Ustvolskaya, considered one of Shostakovich’s favored students in the 1940s, wrote music that left a deep impression on her teacher; themes from this trio recur in several of his later works.

The Virtuosi ensemble brings together Renée Jolles, David Ying, Mikhail Kopelman, Associate Professor of Viola Phillip Ying, Professor of Clarinet Michael Wayne, Associate Professor of Piano and Chamber Music Elinor Freer, Professor of Piano Marina Lomazov, and Assistant Professor of Collaborative Piano and Chamber Music Irina Lupines.

A YOUNG COMPOSER: Dmitri Shostakovich completed his First Symphony at just 19.

By the end of the week, audiences will have encountered Shostakovich in many forms: the wit of the Ninth Symphony, the intensity of his chamber works, the grandeur of the Fifth. To fully appreciate this range, it helps to remember the man behind the music.

Born in St. Petersburg on September 25, 1906, Dmitri Shostakovich revealed prodigious talent early. He entered the Petrograd Conservatory as a teenager, studying piano and composition while navigating the upheaval of post-revolutionary Russia. By 19, he had composed his First Symphony, a work that catapulted him to international recognition.

Yet his career unfolded under the scrutiny of Soviet authorities. His music often carried double meanings—grand, patriotic gestures on the surface, yet laced with irony, satire, or private anguish. At times celebrated as the voice of the Soviet people, at other moments condemned for “formalism,” he walked a perilous line between artistic expression and political survival.

Despite these challenges, Shostakovich produced a vast body of work: 15 symphonies, 15 string quartets, film scores, ballets, operas, and more. His output, immense in scale and scope, reflected both the triumphs and terrors of his century.

Across five evenings, Eastman musicians will honor him not only as a towering figure of 20th-century music but also as an artist whose works still speak with urgency and humanity. Half a century after his death, Shostakovich’s voice remains unmistakable—resilient, restless, and echoing through the halls of Eastman.