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The main emphasis on the course concerns local events and significant anniversaries of composers and/ or artists. There are several major anniversaries this year for composers as well as visual artists. As I write now I cannot say for certain exactly which exhibitions will be taking place during April to July 2025. More information will be released anon. The major anniversary of the summer of 2025 will be the 50th anniversary of the death of Dmitri Shostakovich. His career spanned much of the history of the Soviet Union and the changes in political activity were reflected by the development of Shostakovich’s ever evolving shifts in style from radical modernism through Socialist Realism to almost coded secrets associated with covert dissent.

The visual arts of this period were equally eclectic, ranging from Constructivism through to post modernism. The summer of 2025 also recognises the centenary of the stylistic movement known as Art Deco as well as the 50th anniversary of the death of Barbara Hepworth, one of Britain’s most celebrated sculptors. The course content may well alter slightly, dependent on any exhibitions events, or obituaries being announced in the meantime, as yet unknown