In the organizer's words:

Dimitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 11 in G minor "The Year 1905" op. 103

Maximilian Steinberg, Variations for large orchestra op. 2

• Sunday, January 11, 2026 at 6 pm, Anneliese Brost Musikforum Ruhr, Marienplatz 1, Bochum
• Friday, February 20, 2026 at 8 pm, Philharmonie Essen, Huyssenallee 53, Essen

The young orchestra NRW, conductor: Ingo Ernst Reihl

Admission from 15 euros, pupils, students and refugees have Free admission (with proof at the Box Office)

Tickets for Bochum: https://bochumer-symphoniker.reservix.de/p/reservix/event/2498942

Tickets for Essen: https://www.theater-essen.de/programm/kalender/das-junge-orchester-nrwingo-ernst-reihl-153730/3373/

About the program: Dmitri Shostakovich's 11th Symphony, entitled "The Year 1905", is a work of gripping drama, political ambiguity and musical depth. It is one of his most politically charged compositions and reflects not only a historical event, but also the turmoil and suffering of the Soviet people under repression and violence - then as in Shostakovich's own present.
The title refers to the revolutionary unrest in Russia in 1905, in particular the so-called "Bloody Sunday" of January 9 of that year. At that time, tsarist troops shot at a peaceful demonstration of workers marching to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg with petitions.
However, Shostakovich wrote the symphony over half a century later - in 1956/57, shortly after the death of Stalin (1953) and in the middle of the so-called "thaw period" under Nikita Khrushchev. Memories of the Soviet terror under Stalin were still fresh, especially of the suppression of the Hungarian uprising in 1956, which was crushed during the composition phase. Many interpreters therefore see the symphony not only as a musical representation of the events of 1905, but also as a critical reflection of contemporary violence and oppression.
Shostakovich himself hardly made any clear statements about the political message of the symphony, but many interpreters read it as a veiled criticism of Stalinism - the story of 1905 as a metaphor for the oppression in the Soviet Union of the 1950s. The composer had to negotiate with the regime throughout his life in order to preserve his artistic freedom, and so this symphony is also a work between official pathos and personal tragedy.
The emotional force and political complexity of the work made it one of Shostakovich's most discussed works.
Immediately before the main work, the "Variations for large orchestra op. 2" by Shostakovich's teacher Maximilian Steinberg (1883-1946), who in turn was a pupil of Lyadov, Glazunov and Rimsky-Korsakov, will be performed. The Russian-Jewish composer, who is almost forgotten in this country, composed his Opus 2 in 1905.

As part of the concerts, there will be special exhibitions in the foyers of the concert halls on the "Life, work and impact" of Dmitri Shostakovich by Alexander Gurdon.

About the orchestra : The junge orchester NRW was founded in 1985 by the then 15-year-old conductor Ingo Ernst Reihl and talented pupils, students and young professionals. From the very beginning, it was important to the orchestra members that the junge orchester NRW was not subordinate to any institution. It feels connected to the Rhine/Ruhr region, but not to a single city. It is a free community of people united by the desire to make music in a variety of ways. The ensemble regularly performs at the Philharmonie Essen and the Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal - mainly with great symphonic works from the late Romantic and modern periods (Brahms, Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, Bruckner, Mahler, Shostakovich).

Price information:

Admission from 15 euros, pupils, students and refugees have Free admission (on presentation of proof at the Förderverein stand in the foyer on the evening of the concert)