Leningrad Symphony
At the centre of the Shostakovich Festival Leipzig 2025 are three performances of Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony, in which the Gewandhaus Orchestra can be heard on the Gewandhaus stage together with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Andris Nelsons. The Festival Orchestra joins them for the third of these concerts: with Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony op. 110a, based on the 8th String Quartet, one of the composer's most intimate and personal works.
A Unique Alliance
Since 2018, there has been a close transatlantic connection between the Gewandhausorchester and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with Andris Nelsons as chief conductor of both.
With the Shostakovich Festival, this unique alliance will continue with another major project: As part of their cooperation, both orchestras will form the Festival Orchestra, which will exist only for the festival period, on the ranks of their academies - the Mendelssohn Orchestra Academy and the Tanglewood Music Center - and will be reinforced by students from the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Leipzig University of Music and Theatre.