Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) was a Soviet Russian composer whose 15 symphonies and 15 string quartets chronicle the terrors and triumphs of life under Soviet rule.
In Depth
Shostakovich is one of the towering figures of 20th-century music. His Symphony No. 5, subtitled "A Soviet Artist's Response to Just Criticism," saved his career after his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was denounced in Pravda in 1936. His Leningrad Symphony (No. 7), composed during the Nazi siege, became a symbol of Soviet resistance.
His string quartets are intensely personal, often encoding hidden messages and autobiographical references. The famous DSCH motif (D-E♭-C-B in German notation) appears throughout his later works as a musical signature. Whether his public statements reflected genuine belief or survival strategy remains one of classical music's most debated questions.
Shostakovich kept a packed suitcase by his door during the Great Terror, expecting to be arrested any night — he would sleep in the stairwell so the secret police wouldn't wake his family.