The Casals String Quartet, Alexander Melnikov

2015 marks the 40th anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich’s death. The Barbican celebrates the Russian composer with an immersive Shostakovich Day, featuring three concerts that explore aspects of his remarkable musical legacy, set in the context of readings from the composer’s letters.

A range of Shostakovich’s chamber music is performed by the acclaimed Casals Quartet and Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov: five middle-period string quartets and the Piano Quintet counterpoint a complete cycle of Shostakovich’s piano Preludes and Fugues.

The day is curated by composer, arranger, broadcaster, teacher and writer Gerard McBurney who also performs the readings of the letters Shostakovich wrote to various friends and colleagues, giving penetrating insight into his personality and placing his music in the complex cultural and political context of its time.