Thu, 7. 5. 2015, 7:00 p.m.
B7 - THE LENINGRAD SYMPHONY
Venue: Zlín Congress Centre | Organizer: Filharmonie Bohuslava Martinů, o.p.s. | Price: 250,- 210,- 180,-
D. SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony no. 7, C major, Op. 60 'Leningrad'
Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: STANISLAV VAVŘÍNEK
"I have no objection to my Seventh Symphony being called Leningrad," Dmitri Shostakovich wrote in his memoirs, "but this is not about the siege. It is about Leningrad, which was destroyed by Stalin. The final blow was dealt by Hitler." The symphony was written in the composer's native city on the Neva, and later after his evacuation in Kuibyshev, and it provided moral strength and support to all those who fought against the occupiers. Performances of the symphony around the world were a sensation. The work's most poignant premiere in Leningrad came on the very day - 9th August 1942 - that the Germans intended to occupy the city. The original orchestra's size had dwindled so greatly that in view of the very large number of musicians required for the piece, players had to be brought in from the ranks of the people defending the city.
Both the audience and the players were moved to tears by the unique atmosphere in the auditorium. This music was also broadcast to the enemy ranks as a portent of the people's indestructibility and bravery.
The symphony, which takes up the whole of tonight's programme, is scheduled in May to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.