About

Join Joanna MacGregor ahead of our Brighton Festival concert, Oh To Believe, as she dives into Shostakovich's Symphony No 10.

Designed to illuminate and entertain, The Listening Club is a series of one-hour, illustrated informal talks delving deep into this season’s music, uncovering the composers’ intentions, social context, and musical motifs to listen out for.

BPO are thrilled to be performing Shostakovich’s monumental Symphony No.10 at Brighton Festival – thought by many to be his greatest symphony. Performed in 1953 only months after Stalin’s death, it’s one of his most personal, shocking works.

Shostakovich has represented many things to many people – Cold War warrior, victim of a ruthless state, an upholder of a tonal language – and the tenth symphony abounds in messages, coded melodies and magnificent, Mahler-inspired gestures. We’ll also take a look at William Kentridge’s film Oh To Believe in Another World, a majestic and radical interpretation of Shostakovich’s huge work.

This is a companion event to BPO's concert Oh To Believe in Another World. Tickets sold separately.

Date

Thursday 7 May 2026 6:00 PM - 7:15 PM (UTC+01)

Location

Brighton Unitarian Church
New Rd, Brighton, BN1 1UF

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