Founded in 2006, the DSCH Shostakovich Ensemble is considered one of the leading chamber music groups on today’s international scene. Based in Lisbon since its creation by Artistic Director Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro, DSCH is a flexible-formation ensemble and a platform for collaboration and interaction among outstanding musicians.

The ensemble takes its name from composer Dmitri Shostakovich, in tribute to the centenary of his birth in 2006, the year in which DSCH began its activity. Since then, it has appeared in prestigious seasons and festivals across Europe, the USA, and Australia.

Its vast repertoire spans works by composers of different eras and styles – from Beethoven to Schumann, Mozart to Messiaen, Haydn to Webern, Brahms to Ravel, Shostakovich to Sofia Gubaidulina, with whom the ensemble has established a close artistic collaboration.

Some of the most distinguished musicians of our time have performed with DSCH, including José van Dam, Pascal Moraguès, Esther Hoppe, Christian Poltéra, Lars Anders Tomter, Gary Hoffman, Gérard Caussé, Corey Cerovsek, Renaud Capuçon, Tedi Papavrami, Adrian Brendel, Jack Liebeck, Kyril Zlotnikov, Liza Ferschtman, among many others.

Since 2006, several concerts by the Shostakovich Ensemble have been recorded and broadcast by RTP Antena 2 and the French television channel Mezzo.

In 2018, it launched the DSCH Shostakovich Ensemble Composition Prize, dedicated to honouring the work and careers of leading Portuguese composers. Luís Tinoco, Eurico Carrapatoso, Andreia Pinto-Correia, and Sérgio Azevedo were awarded in 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024, respectively.

The ensemble’s discography includes the first world recording of the Complete Chamber Music for Piano and Strings by Dmitri Shostakovich and the Trios Op. 11 and 38 by Ludwig van Beethoven (Paraty/Harmonia Mundi) – albums highly acclaimed by the national and international press. In 2025, DSCH – Schostakovich Ensemble will record an album featuring works by Antonín Dvořák and Franz Schubert.