Officially, Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 in C major was the composer’s response to Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Russia and the 900-day siege of the city of Leningrad. Trapped in the besieged city, Shostakovich worked tirelessly on the symphony in between air raid sirens and transporting his family safely to the nearest bunker. He even appeared on radio, and in a matter-of-fact tone talked of his work on his new symphony to bolster the spirits of those still trapped in the city and to hold on to any semblance of normal life. Eventually, Shostakovich and his family were evacuated to Moscow were the symphony was finished.
The monumental symphony, nicknamed “Leningrad,” spanning four colossal movements and over an hour in length, received its premiere in Kuibyshev on March 5, 1942 and was performed again in Moscow a few weeks later. Immediately, the symphony received international attention and Western spectators and critics recognized it as a tribute to the resolve of the Russian spirit in the face of Hitler’s brutal campaign against Russia. For the Russians, it was a deeply moving work that brought many to tears. The symphony was immediately praised by Alexei Tolstoy in the official newspaper Pravda. Though Stalin had Shostakovich censored several times throughout his dictatorship, he recognized the value of both the symphony and Tolstoy’s review, and neither was he interested in squelching the mass display of nationalism that resulted from the symphony’s performance.
However, this story of nationalism and a defiant Russian spirit, perpetrated by Stalin’s propaganda machine, may not have been the whole story of the Seventh Symphony’s conception. Conflicting accounts obscure the actual time Shostakovich began work on the symphony, and it is possible it was conceived and begun before Hitler’s invasion. Even the famous “invasion” theme that appears in the first movement was reportedly played by the composer in his composition classes prior to those events. Indeed, its character, which builds slowly out of nothing to eventually overtake the entire orchestra, is out of touch which the sudden and violent hammer stroke Hitler delivered against Russia. Assuming the historical context, the only other event that seems relevant is the Bolsheviks rise to power and the Great Purges of the 1930s, in which so many people lost loved ones or friends, and lived in fear of expressing any grief. With different accounts that were revealed under Mikhail Gorbachev’s glasnost, it appears that the Seventh Symphony was as much anti-Stalin as it was anti-Hitler, and was conceived as an emotional outlet for the atrocities committed by Soviet Russia on its own people before it become an official example of Russian defiance.Joseph DuBose
Biblioteca Multimediale dell'Istituto Europeo di Musica. Servizio di filodiffusione del sabato e della domenica.
The music published in our channel is exclusively dedicated to divulgation purposes and not commercial.
Shostakovich: Symphony 7 in C Major, Op. 60 - I mov.
Classical Music | Orchestral Music
Dmitry Shostakovich
Symphony 7 in C Major, Op. 60 - I mov. Play
Recorded on 10/15/2011, uploaded on 10/15/2011
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Officially, Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 in C major was the composer’s response to Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Russia and the 900-day siege of the city of Leningrad. Trapped in the besieged city, Shostakovich worked tirelessly on the symphony in between air raid sirens and transporting his family safely to the nearest bunker. He even appeared on radio, and in a matter-of-fact tone talked of his work on his new symphony to bolster the spirits of those still trapped in the city and to hold on to any semblance of normal life. Eventually, Shostakovich and his family were evacuated to Moscow were the symphony was finished.
The monumental symphony, nicknamed “Leningrad,” spanning four colossal movements and over an hour in length, received its premiere in Kuibyshev on March 5, 1942 and was performed again in Moscow a few weeks later. Immediately, the symphony received international attention and Western spectators and critics recognized it as a tribute to the resolve of the Russian spirit in the face of Hitler’s brutal campaign against Russia. For the Russians, it was a deeply moving work that brought many to tears. The symphony was immediately praised by Alexei Tolstoy in the official newspaper Pravda. Though Stalin had Shostakovich censored several times throughout his dictatorship, he recognized the value of both the symphony and Tolstoy’s review, and neither was he interested in squelching the mass display of nationalism that resulted from the symphony’s performance.
However, this story of nationalism and a defiant Russian spirit, perpetrated by Stalin’s propaganda machine, may not have been the whole story of the Seventh Symphony’s conception. Conflicting accounts obscure the actual time Shostakovich began work on the symphony, and it is possible it was conceived and begun before Hitler’s invasion. Even the famous “invasion” theme that appears in the first movement was reportedly played by the composer in his composition classes prior to those events. Indeed, its character, which builds slowly out of nothing to eventually overtake the entire orchestra, is out of touch which the sudden and violent hammer stroke Hitler delivered against Russia. Assuming the historical context, the only other event that seems relevant is the Bolsheviks rise to power and the Great Purges of the 1930s, in which so many people lost loved ones or friends, and lived in fear of expressing any grief. With different accounts that were revealed under Mikhail Gorbachev’s glasnost, it appears that the Seventh Symphony was as much anti-Stalin as it was anti-Hitler, and was conceived as an emotional outlet for the atrocities committed by Soviet Russia on its own people before it become an official example of Russian defiance. Joseph DuBose
Biblioteca Multimediale dell'Istituto Europeo di Musica. Servizio di filodiffusione del sabato e della domenica.
The music published in our channel is exclusively dedicated to divulgation purposes and not commercial.
Shostakovich: Symphony 7 in C Major, Op. 60 - I mov.
Gennady Rozhdestvensky,
State Symphony Capella of Russia
More music by Dmitry Shostakovich
Prelude Op.34 no.5
Prelude n. 1 (from five preludes without opus number)
Trio No. 1 in c minor, Op. 8
Adagio from The Limpid Stream, Op. 39
Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 99
Prelude n. 3 (from five preludes without opus number)
Sonata for Cello and Piano in d minor, Op. 40
Sonata for Cello and Piano in d minor, Op. 40
Piano Quintet in g minor, op. 57
String Quartet no. 1, op. 49
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