So, most people know that Friday was the 250th birthday of some musical dude you might've heard of. But! Did you realise that this year also marks the 100th birthday of Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich? Debate over whether Shostakovich was a tortured artist, rebelling against Stalinist Russia, or a Soviet Sympathiser continues, but the fact remains he was a brilliant composer who left a lasting impression on film music, and composed complex works from 2 cello concertos, 15 string quartets, 15 symphonies Warning!: Last four links are direct to the BBC "Discovering Music" Real player streams.
posted by coriolisdave on Feb 1, 2006 - 14 comments

Afterwards, it was still a city under siege, but I knew it would live. Music is life, after all ... what is life without music? Ed Vulliamy on the terrible siege of Leningrad and how Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony spurred the resistance to the Nazis.
posted by Grangousier on Nov 27, 2001 - 2 comments