Description
Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony was composed amidst significant upheaval during the “Great Patriotic War” which began in 1941. No composer before Shostakovich had ever written a symphony during a raging war, “and no composer had ever attempted to describe a future victory, in music, with such power and conviction.” Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
Shostakovich’s “War Symphony” was finally performed on 9 August 1942 in Leningrad. A playwright in the audience wrote, “People who no longer knew how to shed tears of sorrow and misery now cried from sheer joy. It was not an impression, but a staggering experience.” The siege of Leningrad was finally lifted two years later, but almost one million of the city’s civilian population had by then perished.

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: [email protected] 

Support the show