Spirit of the peopleJoyful
· Day 257 of 1418
The Seventh Symphony
Kuibyshev (Samara)
- the length of the symphony
- ≈ 80 min
- the length of the symphony
Composer Dmitri Shostakovich began his Seventh Symphony in besieged Leningrad. It premiered on 5 March 1942 in Kuibyshev, then in Moscow, London and New York. Music about courage travelled around the world.
Shostakovich wrote the first three movements in besieged Leningrad. Sometimes he broke off to stand watch on the roof of the conservatoire and put out incendiary bombs. In the autumn the composer and his family were evacuated, and he finished the symphony in Kuibyshev.
The score was put on microfilm and flown to the West via Tehran and Cairo. By the summer of 1942 millions of people around the world were listening: in America it was performed by Arturo Toscanini's orchestra.
I dedicate my Seventh Symphony to our struggle against fascism, to our coming victory over the enemy, and to my native city, Leningrad.