Dmitri Shostakovich
1906 – 1975
Shostakovich lived under Stalin's terror and encoded his resistance in music. His works contain hidden messages, bitter irony, and devastating emotional power. Music as survival, music as witness.
Essential Listening
Symphony No. 5 - Fourth Movement
Triumphant or tragic? The forced optimism of this finale masks deeper truths. Shostakovich's 'reply to just criticism' still provokes debate.
Waltz No. 2
Bittersweet nostalgia in waltz time. Made famous by countless films, this melody captures elegance tinged with melancholy.
String Quartet No. 8 - Second Movement
Savage intensity in a Jewish dance. Shostakovich pours his despair and defiance into searing musical testimony.
Discover Shostakovich in These Journeys
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