This year marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of great composer Dmitry Shostakovich. Three years ago it surfaced that the Shostakovich family had its roots in Belarus. Shostakovich’s great-grandfather Pyotr was born in the Belarusian village of Shemetovo in the Myadel district in 1808. This information was discovered by opera singer Arcadi Volodos, a Belarus-born French citizen and a friend of the Shostakovich family.
A concert in honour of the famous musician has for the first time taken place in Shemetovo, attended by the local authorities, foreign guests, as well as by Belarusian Music Academy teachers and students.












