This famous and frequently performed quartet was written in 1960 in the local spa of Gohrisch, where the composer was recuperating from a disease of the spinal cord, and no doubt also recovering from his forced rejoining of the Soviet Communist Party. Shostakovich rejected any political or ideological interpretation of the work, only wishing it to be understood as »dedicated to my memory«. The audience can look forward to a musical exploration of this string quartet by a trio consisting of Günter Baby Sommer (percussion), Johannes Enders (tenor and soprano saxophone) and Steffen Gaitzsch (violin).

In der neuen Spielzeit wird sich das »Fenster aus Jazz« wieder drei Mal öffnen, um die Köpfe des Publikums musikalisch durchzulüften. Den Anfang macht Günter Baby Sommer, der mit Johannes Enders (Tenor- und Sopransaxophon) und Steffen Gaitzsch (Violine) Schostakowitschs Streichquartett Nr. 8 c-moll jazz-improvisatorisch interpretieren wird. Zwei Größen des italienischen Jazz, Giovanni Trovesi (Bassklarinette) und Gianni Coscia (Akkordeon) widmen sich Umberto Ecos »Die geheimnisvolle Flamme der Königin Loana«, das in Auszügen von Albrecht Goette gelesen wird. Das dritte Konzert halten Günter Baby Sommer und Matthias Creutziger, die Kuratoren der Jazz-Reihe, noch als Überraschung bereit.

The clarinettist, saxophonist and composer Gianluigi Trovesi is one of Europe’s leading jazz musicians. His partner is the accordionist Gianni Coscia, whose virtuoso style combines elements of jazz, klezmer and tango. In his novel »The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana«, the great Italian writer Umberto Eco investigated the roots of the avant-garde, which can be traced back to the spirit of classical, folk and popular music. This text forms the basis for the current project by the two musicians, who were close friends with Eco until his death in 2016.