Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony was first played in the city of its birth on 9 August, 1942. There has never been a first performance to match it. Pray God, there never will be again. Almost a year earlier, the Germans had begun their blockade of the city. Already many thousands had died of their wounds, the cold, and most of all, starvation. The assembled musicians - scrounged from frontline units and military bands, for only twenty of the orchestra's 100 players had survived - were so hungry, many feared they'd be too weak to play the score right through. In these, the darkest days of the Second World War, the music and the defiance it inspired provided a rare beacon of light for the watching world. Setting the composition of Shostakovich's most famous work against the tragic canvas of the siege itself and the years of repression and terror that preceded it, Leningrad: Siege and Symphony is a magisterial and moving account of one of the most tragic periods in history.
| ISBN: | 9780857383020 |
| Publication date: | 2nd October 2014 |
| Author: | Brian Moynahan |
| Publisher: | Quercus Publishing |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 560 pages |
| Primary Genre | History |
| Other Genres: | |
| Recommendations: |
Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony was first played in the city of its birth on 9 August, 1942. There has never been a first performance to match it. Pray God, there never will be again. Almost a year earlier, the Germans had begun their blockade of the city. Already many thousands had died of their wounds, the cold, and most of all, starvation. The assembled musicians - scrounged from frontline units and military bands, for only twenty of the orchestra's 100 players had survived - were so hungry, many feared they'd be too weak to play the score right through. In these, the darkest days of the Second World War, the music and the defiance it inspired provided a rare beacon of light for the watching world. Setting the composition of Shostakovich's most famous work against the tragic canvas of the siege itself and the years of repression and terror that preceded it, Leningrad: Siege and Symphony is a magisterial and moving account of one of the most tragic periods in history.
Leningrad Siege and Symphony features in the following genres: History, Biographies & Autobiographies, eBooks of the Month, History and Archaeology, Biography, Literature and Literary studies, Recommendations
Leningrad Siege and Symphony is available in Ebook, Paperback
Leningrad Siege and Symphony was written by Brian Moynahan and published by Quercus Publishing
Leningrad Siege and Symphony has 560 pages
£12.59
