A Soviet’s Response to Just Criticism – Shostakovich Symphony No. 5

On September 23, 24, and 25, The Houston Symphony presents Joshua Bell + Shostakovich 5, featuring a world premiere, superstar Joshua Bell, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. In this post, learn about one of Shostakovich’s many clashes with the Soviet government and how it produced this monumental symphony. “My new composition can be called a … Continued

Fighting the Barbarian Artist: Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5

In January 1934, Dmitri Shostakovich scored one of the biggest triumphs of his career with the premiere of Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, a work official critics hailed as the first great Soviet opera. Based on a nineteenth-century novella by Leskov, it follows the misadventures of Katerina, the illiterate wife of a well-to-do country … Continued