Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 ‘Leningrad’ · Teodor Currentzis — Full Score

SWR Symphonieorchester · Teodor Currentzis, conductor · Video:    • Schostakowitsch - Sinfonie Nr. 7 (Leningra...   Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 60 “Leningrad” – composed in 1941 · I. Allegretto 0:00:00 · II. Moderato (poco allegretto) 0:27:53 · III. Adagio 0:38:46 · IV. Allegro non troppo 0:56:13 · Liederhalle, Stuttgart ∙ 28th June 2019 Producer: Tobias Hoff Few important compositions ever been performed under quite so trying circumstances as Dmitri Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony. It was August 9, 1942. Not only was Europe at war, but the German army stood at the gates of Leningrad. So long had the city been under siege that several orchestra members had succumbed to famine during the rehearsal period, and the ensemble, finding itself short of players, put out a call for help. The Russian military officer in command of defense forces released any soldier who could play an orchestral instrument reasonably well long enough for the performance, which was transmitted by loudspeakers around the perimeter of the city, both to hearten the Russian people and to make the point to the Germans that surrender was not at hand. During the concert, empty chairs were placed in the orchestra to represent musicians who had perished before the performance could be given. The Germans initiated an attack just as the concert was beginning, but Soviet commanders ordered their artillery to refrain from firing until the symphony had been played. The piece also has a special significance for Shostakovich’s own biography, and for the bigger context of 20th-century music. It reflects his propaganda power as a Soviet composer, writing the sounds of resistance to the Nazis at the same time as he was saving the Leningrad Conservatory from German incendiary bombs as a firefighter on the roof of the building. Shostakovich was evacuated from Leningrad with his family in October 1941, and composed the finale of the Seventh in Kuibyshev (where the piece was premiered), but the idea of Fireman Shostakovich, who didn’t spare himself from the front line of defence yet also composed the soundtrack to allied resistance, proved irresistible. That was the image which adorned the cover of Time magazine in the summer of 1942, as the symphony embarked on a tour of a wartorn world.