Jacobsen Concert Series Salutes Russian Composer
August 29, 2006

TACOMA, Wash. – The 2006-07 Jacobsen Concert Series at University of Puget Sound launches October 6 at the university’s Schneebeck Concert Hall with a salute to one of the most popular Russian composers of the 20th century, Dmitri Shostakovich. “Celebrating the Shostakovich Centennial” will include Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat minor, opus 138; Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, opus 67; and Prelude and Fugue No. 21 in B-flat Major, opus 87.

Born in 1906 in St. Petersburg, Shostakovich wrote his first symphony in 1925, when he was only 19. The piece was so well received, it premiered shortly after in Leningrad, Berlin, and Philadelphia. An accomplished pianist and prolific composer, Shostakovich went on to complete at least 147 works, including 36 film scores, 15 symphonies, 15 string quartets, four operas, and numerous chamber works, ballets, song cycles, and solo pieces.

“Shostakovich reached a lot of people all over the world and has gained in critical stature over the years,” said Geoffrey Block, professor, University of Puget Sound School of Music.

Much controversy surrounds the composer. “Shostakovich raises a lot of important issues about what music can mean and how it can be used politically by both a country’s ruling regime and its citizens,” said Block. “Many Shostakovich enthusiasts claim that the composer was a Soviet dissident who expressed his dissidence through his music.” Some even believe Shostakovich hid themes of protest and rebellion deep within his compositions, buried beneath more obvious themes trumpeting the politics of Lenin and Soviet idealism.

“Whether or not Shostakovich was a dissident, it’s clear that the political turmoil in Russia throughout most of his life affected his music,” said Block.

As a young boy living in St. Petersburg, Shostakovich witnessed the bloodshed of the Bolshevik Revolution firsthand. Barely a teenager in the economically strapped years after World War I, he worked as a silent movie pianist after school to help his family make ends meet. Later, even as one of the most popular composers of his generation, Shostakovich maintained a complex relationship with the government. Despite a slew of international honors and state awards, his music was periodically banned, and was officially denounced on two separate occasions, in 1936 and 1948.

Widely recognized as one of the great symphonists of the 20th century, Shostakovich died in Moscow in 1975. The social and political climate in which he produced his music, and the apparent contradictions in his treatment by the Soviet government allow interpretation of and speculation about the meaning and significance of his works to continue to this day.

Established in 1984, the Jacobsen Series features performances by University of Puget Sound School of Music faculty, alumni, and guest artists for the university and community. “We strive to provide an artistic and educational experience with a thoughtful theme,” said Block, “to make it unlike any other concert-going experience.”

Additional dates for the 2006-07 series include Nov. 18, with a program featuring compositions that have received the Pulitzer Prize, and Jan. 19, when vibrant chamber ensemble Brave New Works will perform as part of its West Coast tour. In March “Jacobsen Jr.—A Children’s Concert” will bring the series full circle with a program that includes The Story of a Silly Little Mouse, a mini-opera for singers and a small chamber ensemble by Dmitri Shostakovich.

Admission is $12 for the general public; $8 for non-Puget Sound students, seniors (55+), faculty, and staff; and free for current Puget Sound students. Series tickets (excluding the children’s concert) are available at a reduced price. Call 253.879.3555 to order series tickets. For all other orders, contact the Wheelock Information Center. Credit card orders can be phoned in to 253.879.3419. Tickets also will be available at the door.

The Jacobsen Series Scholarship Fund awards annual music scholarships to outstanding student performers and scholars. The fund is sustained entirely by season subscribers and individual ticket sales.

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