The work of genius is a composition by Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich, symphony 7 “Leningradskaya”. The story of the creation of a musical work and the biography of the master itself are exciting and surprising.
Path to the goal
A virtuoso was born on September 25, 1906 in a family where they respected and loved music. Passion of parents passed on to his son. At the age of 9, after watching the opera “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, the boy said that he intended to seriously engage in music. The first teacher was a mother who taught piano. Later, she sent the boy to a music school, the director of which was a famous teacher I. A. Glasser.
Later, misunderstandings arose between the student and teacher regarding the choice of direction. The mentor saw the guy as a pianist, the young man dreamed of becoming a composer. Therefore, in 1918, Dmitry left the school. Perhaps, if the talent remained to study there, the world today would not know such a work as Shostakovich’s 7th symphony. The history of the composition is a significant part of the biography of the musician.
Melodist of the future
The following summer, Dmitry went to audition at the Petrograd Conservatory. There he was noticed by a famous professor and composer A.K. Glazunov. History mentions that this man turned to Maxim Gorky with a request to help with a scholarship for young talent. When asked if he was good at music, the professor honestly answered that Shostakovich’s style was alien and incomprehensible to him, but that was the topic of the future. So, in the fall, the guy entered the conservatory.
But only in 1941 was the Seventh Symphony of Shostakovich written. The history of this work is a thorny path of ups and downs.
Universal love and hate
While still studying, Dmitry created significant melodies, but only at the end of the conservatory did he write his First Symphony. The work has become a thesis. Newspapers called him a revolutionary in the world of music. Along with fame, a lot of negative criticism fell upon the young man. Nevertheless, Shostakovich did not stop working.
Despite his amazing talent, he was unlucky. Each work failed miserably. Many ill-wishers sharply condemned the composer even before Shostakovich’s 7th symphony came out. The history of creating the composition is interesting - the virtuoso composed it already at the peak of popularity. But before that, in 1936, the newspaper Pravda severely condemned ballets and operas of a new format. Ironically, unusual music from the productions authored by Dmitry Dmitrievich fell under the hot hand.
The terrible muse of the Seventh Symphony
The composer was persecuted, the work was banned. The fourth symphony became a pain. For some time he slept dressed and with a suitcase near the bed - the musician was afraid of arrest at any moment.
Nevertheless, he did not pause. In 1937 he released the Fifth Symphony, which surpassed past compositions and rehabilitated it.
But another world opened the world of emotions and feelings in music. The story of the creation of Shostakovich’s 7th symphony was tragic and dramatic.
In 1937, he taught classes on composition at the Leningrad Conservatory, and later received the title of professor.
In this city, he finds World War II. Dmitry Dmitrievich met her in a blockade (the city was surrounded on September 8), then he, like other artists of that time, was taken out of the cultural capital of Russia. The composer and his family were evacuated, first to Moscow, and then, on October 1, to Kuibyshev (Samara since 1991).
Start of work
It is worth noting that the author began to work on this music even before the Great Patriotic War. In 1939-1940, the story of the creation of Shostakovich’s symphony No. 7 began. The first to hear her passages were students and colleagues. Initially, it was a simple topic that evolved with the sound of a snare drum. Already in the summer of 1941, this part became a separate emotional episode of the work. The symphony officially started on July 19. After the author admitted that he had never written so actively. It is interesting that the composer made an appeal to Leningraders on the radio, where he announced creative plans.
In September, he worked on the second and third parts. On December 27, the master wrote the final part. On March 5, 1942, the first symphony of Shostakovich was sounded in Kuibyshev. The story of the creation of the work in blockade is no less exciting than the premiere itself. Her evacuated orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater played. Conducted by Samuel Samosuda.
Main concert
The master’s dream was to perform in Leningrad. Great effort was spent to make the music sound. The task of organizing the concert fell to the only orchestra, which remained in the besieged Leningrad. The beaten city was dropping in a bunch of musicians. They accepted everyone who could stand on their feet. Many front-line soldiers participated in the performance. Only musical notes were delivered to the city. Then they painted the parties and put up posters. On August 9, 1942, the 7th symphony of Shostakovich sounded. The story of the creation of the work is also unique in that it was on this day that the fascist troops planned to break through the defenses.
The conductor was Carl Eliasberg. The order was given: "While the concert is going on, the enemy must be silent." Soviet artillery provided peace and actually covered all the artists. They broadcast music on the radio.
It was a real holiday for the exhausted inhabitants. People cried and applauded while standing. In August, the symphony was played 6 times.
World recognition
Four months after the premiere, the work sounded in Novosibirsk. In the summer, residents of the United Kingdom and the United States heard it. The author has become popular. People from around the world were captured by the blockade story of the creation of the 7th symphony of Shostakovich. In the first few months, work in America sounded more than 60 times . Its first broadcast was listened to by more than 20 million people of this continent.
There were envious people who claimed that the work would not have gained such popularity if it were not for the drama of Leningrad. But, despite this, even the most daring critic did not dare to say that the author’s work is mediocrity.
There were changes in the territory of the Soviet Union. Asa was called Beethoven of the twentieth century. The man received the Stalin Prize. Composer S. Rakhmaninov spoke negatively about the genius, who said: "All artists have been forgotten, only Shostakovich remains." Symphony 7 “Leningrad”, the history of which is worth respecting, won the hearts of millions.
Music of the Heart
Tragic events sound in music. The author wanted to show all the pain that not only war leads, but also the totalitarian regime. He loved his people, but despised the power that governed him. His goal was to convey the feelings of millions of Soviet people. The master suffered with the city and the inhabitants and defended the walls with notes. Anger, love, suffering embodied in such a work as the Seventh Symphony of Shostakovich. The history of creation covers the period of the first months of the war and the start of the blockade.
The theme itself is a grandiose struggle between good and evil, peace and slavery. If you close your eyes and turn on the melody, you can hear how the sky is buzzing from enemy planes, how the native land is groaning from the dirty boots of the invaders, how the mother is crying, who escorts her son to death.
The “Famous Leningradka” became the symbol of freedom - as the poetess Anna Akhmatova called her. On one side of the wall were enemies, injustice, on the other - art, Shostakovich, 7th symphony. The history of creation briefly reflects the first stage of the war and the role of art in the struggle for freedom!