DSCH Comes to Den Norske Opera

The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra challenges the concert format when music and theatre merge. In doing so, it gives us a glimpse into the life and music of one of the greatest composers of the last century.

Imagine a musical experience in which music, theatre, choreography and visual elements flow into one another, creating what becomes a concert theatre. The result challenges our traditional understanding of what a concert can be!

There was a buzz around this performance when it was first performed here at the Oslo Opera House in 2023 and it didn’t take long for tickets to sell out. The critics were also enthusiastic and Aksel Tollåli wrote the following on Scenekunst.no: “Fortunately, the Chamber Orchestra shows that it is possible to do new things with old music and end up with a mutually enriching result.”

There is no narrative in this performance – everything is communicated through the distinctive and emotional character of the music, presented in various tableaux. The musicians continuously create new constellations between projections and scenic elements, and play everything by heart. A thread is spun through Shostakovich’s many expressions, creating a musical narrative.

Shostakovich’s life can be described as a destiny in which artistic integrity and the Soviet regime were at times in conflict. He was a master at adapting, yet insisted on expressing himself freely, which made him controversial both at home and abroad. There is always an ambiguity in his music, blurring the boundaries between irony and seriousness, humour and melancholy. In this way, he could express what was in his heart – to those who were able to perceive it.

Whether Shostakovich addresses darkness or light, his music strikes us directly at the heart with uncompromising force.

Throughout his career, Shostakovich used a musical signature in his work: DSCH. He found the motif in the German transcription of his name – Dmitri SCHostakowitsch – which he then converted into musical notes: D, E-flat, C and H. His String Quartet No. 8 is based entirely on these notes. It was written after a trip to Dresden, where Shostakovich was astounded by the total devastation of the war, and the music speaks volumes about his inner struggle at this time.

The quartet is much loved by audiences, especially through Rudolf Barshai’s arrangement for strings, known as the Chamber Symphony. 

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