Although it wouldn’t be completed until 1957, his new symphony honoring the heroes of the Revolution quickly became the composer’s greatest popular success since his 1941 Leningrad Symphony, earning him the Lenin Prize in 1958.
Read MoreBoth showed a natural attraction to the theater and narrative music. Both showed a fascination with reinventing neglected baroque and classical forms. Both spent a lifetime walking the tightrope between innovation and tradition.
And each managed to achieve the great contradiction of becoming the iconic symbol of their national musical establishment while somehow remaining a rebel and social outcast
Read MoreClassical music is filled with pieces that depict stories and historical events— fairy tales (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice), autobiography (Ein Heldenleben), even hallucinations (Symphonie fantastique) and battles (the 1812 Overture). But only one has been composed while under fire from the very artillery it portrayed.
Read MoreAn exploration of music for string quartet spanning 10 centuries.
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