Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. AndersonMy rating: 0 of 5 stars
You know what is said of reading about music, that is like dancing about architecture and all that. For that reason, I have delayed in taking this in. That only delayed the enjoyment and enlightenment of a work that made me, for instance, sit quietly and enjoy my recording of Shostakovich's 5th Symphony and think of the stresses of the Stalinist state and the contradictory attacks of formalism the composer was reacting to with that opus. This biography of the composes covers before, during, and after the Siege of Leningrad - to the extent possible of a many of falsified documentation and signatory on party-written missives and articles. From the mysteries emerge a harried, persecuted, talented, driven, proud, and unique mind. The lengthy details into the Stalin-Hitler political choreographed ballet, the eventual Nazi invasion, and the Kafka-esque horrors of the Soviet NKVD secret police during World War II make for a rich and extreme backdrop to the composer's creative life. This leads to life in Leningrad under the longest siege and recorded history by the largest invasion force in recorded history. Among the extremities of condition, including cannibalism and un-rationed refugees, it is observed that people with some capacity to enjoy life - poets, jokesters, and art appreciators - survived despite inadequate caloric intake over the idle an resigned. This recalls to me Man's Search for Meaning.
This audiobook includes too brief snippets of highlighted works. Works especially discussed are his Lady Macbeth opera and the 7th and 8th symphonies.
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