Dmitri Shostakovich

Join us on Sunday, February 16th at 1 PM on WRTI 90.1 to hear the first-ever performance of Wynton Marsalis’s 2009 composition Blues Symphony by The Philadelphia Orchestra. The work is conducted by Christian Măcelaru—for whom the symphony holds special importance.

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) composed music in a turbulent political climate where Soviet authorities alternately praised and condemned his work. He kept his first violin concerto in a drawer for seven years until the time was right for its performance in 1955. 

Join us for a fabulous concert broadcast from the Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2015 St. Petersburg Festival, celebrating the great master of the third generation, Dmitri Shostakovich. Sunday, January 28th at 1 pm on WRTI 90.1, and Monday, January 29th at 7 pm on WRTI HD-2.

Dmitri Shostakovich, known for many dramatic works composed in the shadow of Stalin, showed a different side —one filled with humor and family ties—in his Piano Concerto No. 2.

Twentieth-century Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich composed much of his work under the shadow of political oppression. As WRTI’s Susan Lewis reports, today, his music and his personal story continue to inspire a new generation.

Join us for an intense performance of Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 by Lisa Batiashvili with The Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nezet-Seguin. This was the centerpiece of the last concert of the 2014/2015 season and a program the Orchestra took on its European tour, which was a stunning success.