Founded in 2006, DSCH - Shostakovich Ensemble is considered one of the top musical ensembles on the international scene today. Based in Lisbon since its creation by its artistic director Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro, DSCH is an ensemble of variable geometry and a platform for meeting and interacting with musicians of excellence. It owes its name to the composer Dmitri Shostakovich, in homage to the centenary of his birth in 2006, the year in which the DSCH began its activity. Since then, it has performed in various seasons and festivals in Europe, the USA and Australia. DSCH's vast repertoire includes works by composers from different eras and musical styles, from Beethoven to Schumann, Mozart to Messiaen, Haydn to Webern, Brahms to Ravel, including contemporaries such as Sofia Gubaidulina.
It has featured extraordinary musicians such as Pascal Moraguès, Esther Hoppe, Christian Poltéra, Gérard Caussé, Adrian Brendel, Lars Anders Tomter, Corey Cerovsek, Tedi Papavrami, Gary Hoffman, Jack Liebeck, Kyril Zlotnikov, Liza Ferschtman, among many others.
Since 2006, some of the Shostakovich Ensemble's concerts have been recorded and broadcast by RTP Antena 2 and the French television channel Mezzo.
In 2018, it established the DSCH - Shostakovich Ensemble Composition Prize, designed to reward the work and careers of Portugal's leading composers. Luís Tinoco and Eurico Carrapatoso were awarded the prize in 2019 and 2021 respectively.
DSCH's discography includes the world's first recording of Shostakovich's Integral Chamber Music for Piano and Strings and Beethoven's Trios Opus 11 and 38 (Paraty/Harmonia Mundi), albums acclaimed by the national and international specialized press.