The Leningrad première of Shostakovichs Symphony No. 7 (“The Leningrad”) occurred on 9 August 1942 during the Second World War, while the city of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) was under siege by Nazi German forces (September 1941 through January 1944). More than a million people died of starvation (more than U.S. and U.K. soldiers in WWII combined).The Leningrad première was performed by the surviving musicians of the Leningrad Radio Orchestra, supplemented with military performers. Most of the musicians were starving, which made rehearsing difficult: musicians frequently collapsed during rehearsals, and three died. The orchestra was able to play the symphony all the way through only once before the concert. The symphony was broadcast to the German lines by loudspeaker. The Leningrad première was considered by music critics to be one of the most important artistic performances of the war because of its psychological and political effects. As reported: “Waves of emotion surged through the concert hall. In the first movement it was anger; in the second, sadness. As the symphony reached its conclusion, some members of the orchestra faltered – they were utterly exhausted. In a remarkable, spontaneous gesture, the entire audience rose to its feet, willing them to keep going. At the finish there was silence. Someone at the back began clapping, and then there was a thunderous ovation, which lasted 80 minutes. A little girl came up and presented maestro Eliasberg with a bouquet of flowers. ‘People just stood and cried,’ Eliasberg recalled. ‘They knew that this was not a passing episode but the beginning of something. We heard it in the music. The concert hall, the people in their apartments, the soldiers on the front – the whole city had found its humanity. And in that moment, we triumphed over the soulless Nazi war machine.’” Pictured: Composer Dmitri Shostakovich and soldier buying ticket for concert in Leningrad (1942)
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 21:46:01 +0000