Table of contents:
- Record writing speed and composer - air defense fighter
- Premiere and stupor in the German ranks
- What Shostakovich promised listeners with his Symphony
- Interesting facts about the victorious Symphony
Video: How the composer Shostakovich was able to demoralize the Germans and give hope to the blockade
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
On August 9, 1942, Dmitry Shostakovich's Seventh "Leningrad" symphony was performed in Leningrad, tormented by the German blockade. Significance of this fact was given by the fact that the great work was written in a torn to pieces hungry city. The music was broadcast on street loudspeakers and radio. The inhabitants of besieged Leningrad were shocked and hopeful, while the Germans were confused and discouraged. As the violinist D. Oistrakh recalled later, at the height of the war "Leningradskaya" thundered with the prophetic triumph of victory over fascism.
Record writing speed and composer - air defense fighter
The first movement of the symphony, with a pumped drum beat, was composed by Dmitry Shostakovich before the outbreak of the war. Work on the sheet music was going on tightly, so the composer postponed the brainchild until better times. With the outbreak of war, there was a desire not only to defeat the enemy, but also to bring the symphony to a triumphant finale. Shostakovich shared that the creation was given at an incredible speed, the staff of the music filled as if by itself with an irrepressible desire to capture the great strength of the people and the zeal to win.
At the time of writing, Shostakovich was in the ranks of the air defense, breaking away from writing only on the occasion of military concerns. Before the composer was evacuated in October, the first three parts were ready (during the writing of the second, a blockade ring was closed around Leningrad). Shostakovich wrote the finale of the legendary symphony in Kuibyshev, completing it a couple of days before the beginning of 1942.
Premiere and stupor in the German ranks
In March 1942, the premiere took place in Kuibyshev. Reporters from many countries came to the concert in a small town. After the highest assessments by experts and ordinary listeners, requests were received to send scores for performance in the most famous foreign philharmonic societies. The eminent conductor Arturo Toscanini received the right to perform the Seventh Symphony for the first time outside of Russia.
In the summer of 1942, Shostakovich's work was successfully performed in New York, instantly scattering around the world. The main line remained - to organize a live orchestral performance in Leningrad. And soon the city administrators and front commanders came to a bold decision: to sound symphonies in the blockade! Moreover, a special date was chosen - August 9. It was on this day, according to Hitler's idea, that Leningrad was obliged to surrender. The German generals had already been invited to the victorious banquet in advance, but the Nazis overestimated themselves.
The preparation of the concert turned out to be, to put it mildly, not easy. Most of the professional musicians died during the siege days, while others simply did not have the strength to rehearse and perform. For this reason, the musicians were invited from the military. The score was successfully delivered to Leningrad by special board from Kuibyshev. On August 9, the city philharmonic was filled with members of the orchestra, en masse in a pre-faint physical state. The spectators in ceremonial clothes sagging on emaciated bodies looked to match them. But all this was insignificant against the background of the atmosphere that reigned in the hall: in spite of the danger of shelling and airstrikes, chandeliers sparkled, and the audience seemed to break away from the blockade land and froze in unison with freedom and peace.
While the musicians performed the Seventh Symphony, the artillery of the front commander, Leonid Govorov, suppressed enemy fire. The military was preparing for this operation, dubbed "Flurry", all month before the premiere. All 80 minutes of the stage action, merciless fire was fired at the enemy. In total, about three thousand shells landed on pre-established German firing positions. It was Govorov's symphony, thanks to which nothing distracted Leningraders from listening to Shostakovich's music.
In parallel with the live performance, the premiere was broadcast on all loudspeakers and radio points. The Germans became involuntary listeners, unpleasantly surprised by the unexpected inspiration and resilience of the townspeople. They were certain that the city was actually dead. And an orchestra sounded in his heart, performing extraordinary music and thus proclaiming a turning point in the siege of Leningrad.
What Shostakovich promised listeners with his Symphony
The author himself called the Leningrad Symphony the most popular of all his creations and was sincerely upset if people did not understand the thought put into this music. With sounds, folded into bold solos and chords, he conveyed a truthful military chronicle and conveyed a great national strength worthy of a great victory. The symphony is built on 4 parts, excellent in terms of drama. The first, calm and majestic, culminates in an "invasion episode." The second part carries the history of the city in times of peace and longing for the past life. The third, written in the spirit of a requiem, is a mourning for the lost. The finale is gaining strength, affirms a bright future and sings of the heroes.
Interesting facts about the victorious Symphony
The Seventh Symphony remained in history one of the main works of the composer D. Shostakovich. The name "Leningradskaya" was given to the work by Anna Akhmatova. The symphony was conducted by symphonic masters Rozhdestvensky, Barshai, Mravinsky, Bernstein. The music of the first part of the symphony was an accompaniment to the ballet of the same name. In his detailed article, Alexei Tolstoy marked the "Leningrad Symphony" with the triumph of the thought of the human in man, analyzing the work in detail from the point of view of musical science. On August 21, 2008, the first part of the symphony was performed by the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra headed by Valery Gergiev in Tskhinval, destroyed after clashes with Georgian troops. In 2015, the work was performed in the military Philharmonic of Donetsk.
After the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany, one of the German commanders admitted that doubts about the victory of the Third Reich crept in precisely at the time of the Leningrad premiere of the Seventh Symphony. All too clearly that day, the Russians demonstrated a strength that overcomes fear, hunger and even death.
The family life of the renowned composer was quite tragic. After the sudden death of his wife, he married another woman, which did not last long. However, after that came 13 years of late happiness of Dmitry Shostakovich with Irina Supinskaya.
Recommended:
“You must be able to dream correctly!”: How Igor Krutoy survived creative and personal failures and became successful and happy
Once a boy, born in a small Ukrainian town, dreamed of visiting different countries and leaving his mark everywhere. Later, the first wife considered him a failure and simply went to another. Many years have passed, Igor Krutoy has really traveled all over the world and presented his amazing music to the audience. He does not stop dreaming today, only his desires have become completely different
Composer Alexander Zhurbin and poet Irina Ginzburg: a musical and family union that began with a cupcake
As soon as Alexander Zhurbin appeared on the doorstep of Irina Ginzburg's father's house, she understood immediately: this is her future husband and the father of her son. They have been writing their melody of happiness for 40 years. There is no falseness and wrong notes in this music. They compose their music and share it generously around the world
Why after the blockade of Leningrad in the city there was an apartment confusion and a shortage of housing
During the war, when even human life ceases to be valued, what can we say about such nonsense as property. Even if we are talking about an apartment, even if an apartment is in Leningrad. The confusion that arose in the besieged city with housing, when he began to return to life again, gave rise to a lot of controversy. People who lost their homes often moved into empty apartments, and then the real owners returned. Often, the house management independently decided where and in what apartment those who returned were to live
To give birth or not to give birth: How abortion commissions in the USSR decided the fate of women
It is known that in pre-revolutionary Russia the families of ordinary workers and peasants were quite large. As they say, how much God will send. Abortion was prohibited. But with the advent of the new state, politics changed radically. In the USSR, "abortion" commissions appeared, which decided who could have an abortion and who could not
13 years of the late happiness of the brilliant composer: Dmitry Shostakovich and Irina Supinskaya
The great composer was an amazing person. He lived in his own world, but at the same time he could not stand loneliness at all and was not adapted to casual relationships. The composer's first marriage was quite successful, but Nina Varzar, his wife, died suddenly in 1954. He lived with his second wife for a very short time, and his third marriage was perceived by his contemporaries very ambiguously. But Dmitry Shostakovich himself did not hide his happiness