![]() And he caused to be written an unsigned editorial which severely condemned the opera and its pretensions to art. LAUREL FAY (Author of Shostakovich: A Life): Stalin happened to go to see one of these and was not pleased. And what happened next, says Shostakovich biographer Laurel Fay, changed the composer's life and the history of Russian music. In Moscow, three different theaters were hosting separate productions of Lady Macbeth. HUIZENGA: In January 1936, Shostakovich was riding high. Unidentified Female (Opera Singer): (Singing) (Foreign language spoken) (Soundbite of opera "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk") In 1934, he unleashed a sexy thriller of an opera called Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. HUIZENGA: Before long, Soviet papers covered Shostakovich like a Hollywood celebrity. His first symphony heralded him as a whip-smart composer, who, at age 19, obviously knew what to do with an orchestra. TOM HUIZENGA: Much of the debate about Shostakovich centers on whether the mild-mannered composer was speaking a secret language of dissent through his music, or whether he was little more than a court composer to a brutal communist regime.Īs a young man, Dmitri Shostakovich was touched with brilliance. Books have been written and movies have been made about the man, but his music and what he meant by it remains clouded in controversy. Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich. ![]()
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