Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, Part 1
Shostakovich\u2019s life and career was so wrapped up with his relationship to the Soviet government that it is sometimes hard to appreciate that, all else aside, he was one of the great 20th century composers. His 5th symphony is the meeting point between Shostakovich's music and the political web he was often ensnared in, and it is a piece that is still being vociferously debated. This week we\u2019re going to tell the story of the piece\u2019s genesis, and then we\u2019ll explore the first two movements of the symphony.