In Memoriam

Chamber Concert 9

– Jan Windszus Photography

ProgramAlfred Schnittke[1934–1998] Präludium in memoriam Dimitri Schostakowitsch Mieczyslaw Weinberg[1919–1996] String Quartet Nr. 7, op. 59

Alfred Schnittke String Quartet Nr. 3

Dmitri Klebanov [1907–1987] String Quartet Nr. 4

To conclude the chamber concert series of the 2025/26 season, the orchestra musicians of the Komische Oper Berlin will perform works by composers who faced persecution and oppression throughout their lives. The program will be framed by works by Alfred Schnittke: opening with the Prelude in Memoriam Dmitri Shostakovich and concluding with String Quartet No. 3. Both works are marked by musical references to the late Shostakovich, who faced hostility because of his music and had to fear for his life and his work. Mieczysław Weinberg’s String Quartet No. 7 and Dmitri Klebanov’s String Quartet No. 4 offer two further examples of politically charged music. Due to the censorship and defamation of Weinberg’s and Klebanov’s works by the Nazi regime and the Soviet Union, the two composers’ musically critical voices were not heard until much later. The program defines this concert as an evening that powerfully reminds us how music retains its power as a voice of resistance even under the harshest conditions.

Artists/Collaborators: Fuyu Iwaki (Violine), Shiri Jansky (Violoncello), Masae Kobayashi (Viola), Rebecca Li (Violine)

Next date:

• Date Monday, 15/June/2026 19:30
• Venue Komische Oper Berlin: Schillertheater - Foyer
• Address Bismarckstraße 110, 10625 Berlin-Charlottenburg