Lecture, exhibition and performance in one evening: Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus joins Shostakovich Day festival

In 2026, the music world celebrates 120 years since the birth of Dmitry Shostakovich. On October 1, the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus joined the international festival Shostakovich Day: during one evening, the audience could hear an interesting lecture, visit a unique exhibition and see a ballet performance.

The lecture of the famous historian, doctor of historical sciences, deputy director of the St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic named after D. D. Shostakovich Julia Kantor “Dedicated to the city of Leningrad”: The Seventh Symphony of D. Shostakovich and “The Blockade Book” by Ales Adamovich and Daniil Granin as historical symbols” was held in the Chamber Hall of the theater and gathered those who are not indifferent not only to music and literature, but also to the topic of historical memory.

- The topic of the lecture is directly related to our common history, Julia Kantor emphasized. - Of course, Dmitry Shostakovich is a world figure, and his connection with Leningrad is indissoluble not only historically and genetically, but also culturally. But I wanted to tell the Belarusian public the story that binds us due to a cultural phenomenon, such as The Blockade Book by Ales Adamovich and Daniil Granin. The book is about spiritual and spiritual forces, about humanitarian weapons, about resisting the dehumanizing machine of Nazism. Both Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony and The Blockade Book are stories of spiritual resistance. That is why in Minsk I wanted to talk about these two works – the cultural codes that unite us.

What Shostakovich did in music – Russian, Soviet, world – is one of the pinnacles of culture not only of the XX century, but also of the XXI century

- But there is more than just musical and compositional talent, the power of the human person. And, of course, fortitude with external fragility. This is also one of the distinguishing qualities of Shostakovich-man, and Shostakovich-artist.

In the foyer of the high-rise, an exhibition “Shostakovich – between the lines” was opened. In the circle of performers”. The exposition, created on the basis of archival materials of the St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Musical Art, the Archive of D. D. Shostakovich (Moscow) and the Music Library of the St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic named after D. D. Shostakovich, was presented by the Executive Director of the festival Ekaterina Zabairachnaya. According to her, it was thanks to the partnership with Minsk that the Shostakovich Day festival gained international status:

Dmitri Shostakovich lived at a time when it seemed difficult to create, and he was creating. The exposition, which can be seen in the theater for two weeks, tells about the composer’s many years of creative dialogue with the first performers of his music. And this is David Oistrakh, Galina Vishnevskaya, Mstislav Rostropovich.

The evening of October 1, ended with the show of the only performance in the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus, where the composer’s music sounds, the ballet “Illusions of Love” to the music of D. Shostakovich, F. Chopin and L. Shirin (staged by Igor Kolb). Nikolai Kolyadko stood behind the conductor's desk, and the main part was performed by Lyudmila Khitrova.

- It is a joy for a musician to play Shostakovich, - Honored Artist of the Republic of Belarus Maestro Nikolai Kolyadko does not hide emotions. - This is a serious work, because his music places the highest demands on performance. This is a completely new world that we are interested in exploring.

The festival is organized by the St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Musical Arts Development Foundation together with the St. Petersburg Museum of Theatre and Musical Art with the support of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives and the St. Petersburg Committee for Culture.