Shostakovich: 1906-1975

Dmitri Shostakovich was an unsurpassed musical chronicler of his life and times, and of the Soviet state’s complicated relationship with artists. Despite being a highly decorated member of the Communist Party, he wrote works that clashed with the state and led to denouncements on multiple occasions. His body of music speaks to the tension of being both celebrated and denigrated by a government that fell short of its own ideals as it embraced para...