Music against Nazism. – Russia today Posting in CHAT: RussiaHow Shostakovich's 7th Symphony was played for the first time in besieged Leningrad. At the end of December 1941, in Kuibyshev (now Samara), an event occurred that the music world was waiting for. Dmitry Shostakovich completed the 7th symphony, which Akhmatova would later call Leningrad. The premiere took place there at the beginning of March 1942, then it was performed in Moscow, abroad, and it seemed that only the residents of the city to which it was dedicated were not heard. Then the leadership of the Leningrad Front decided to perform the 7th Symphony in besieged Leningrad. The concert took place on August 9, 1942. On the day of the premiere, Marshal Govorov came to the concert at the Philharmonic and took a place in the hall along with the rest of the audience, making it clear that he vouched for the safety of every person present in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic that day. The hall was full. The clothes of the musicians at the siege premiere were very varied. Someone was in a tunic, someone in a quilted jacket, the only one who was in a traditional tailcoat was conductor Carl Eliasberg. Original source Source link