Back in the USSR

The great Russian composer Dmitry Shostakovich was born on this day 104 years ago. I'll never forget the moment when I heard his Tenth Symphony as a student in 1975, the year he died. The sheer power and depth of emotion in his music grabbed my attention like nothing I'd ever heard before. He was presented to the world as a great communist composer, a loyal and contented spokesman for Soviet society. But, despite his patriotism, he has been widely regarded as a dissident in disguise, struggling to express himself as an artist living under a repressive regime. The story of this complex genius raises questions of conscience and creativity, of integrity and identity.

Fifty years ago, in September 1960, Shostakovich was formally inducted as a member of the Communist Party and became a full member a year later. This was a development which mystified friends, colleagues and family alike. What then are we to make of his decision to join the Communist Party? Was it the result of cowardice or commitment? Cowardice was certainly a trait which he admitted to during long periods of introspection, but it is perhaps too harsh a word to use under the circumstances. It is probably more appropriate to say that he recognised the need for self-preservation, since without compromise he may well have ended his life in one of the many labour camps. Then we would have been deprived of the genius of his prodigious musical output and his voice of conscience in a wilderness of repression.

On a personal note, I must say that I am very much looking forward to this evening's celebration of ‘Russian Masters’ at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. Vasily Petrenko's recordings of the Shostakovich symphonies, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, have won unanimous critical acclaim. To mark Shostakovich's birthday they have chosen to perform his Fifteenth Symphony, which was his last and probably his most personal. To read my fuller discussion of Shostakovich's troubled relationship with the Soviet state, go to the following link to access an article in the Music & Vision Magazine - http://www.mvdaily.com