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Composer of the Week

Music: Classical

Composer of the Week - Brand

An informative guide to composers' lives and their music.

An informative and accessible guide to composers' lives and their music.

Composer of the Week: Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975): An important call

Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)

An important call

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975), An important call

We hear about the terrifying moment Shostakovich received a phone call from Stalin.

We hear about the terrifying moment Shostakovich received a call from Stalin. Donald Macleod presents Shostakovich's String Quartet No 4 and Violin Concerto No 1.

Shostakovich was composing for the big screen to earn money to support his family, writing pieces to comply with Party guidelines, and composing works for the concert hall that were hidden for many years, and only premiered after Stalin's death. In today's programme we hear of the terrifying moment Shostakovich received a phone call from Stalin himself.  Donald Macleod presents Shostakovich's Fourth String Quartet, and a movement from his First Violin Concerto.  

This week we're exploring Dmitri Shostakovich the family man. We are turning our attention to the middle of the Russian composer's life, hearing about his relationship with his two children (Galina, born in 1936, and Maxim, born in 1938) and his first wife Nina, who he was married to from 1935 until her death in 1954.


Pirogov (Finale)								
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Riccardo Chailly, conductor

Violin Concerto No 1 in A minor Op 77 (1st mvmt) 	
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra  
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor 
Lisa Batiashvili (violin)

The Song of the Forests Op 81 (part 1 & 2) 						
Mikhail Kotliarov, tenor
Nikita Storojev, bass
New London Children’s Choir
Brighton Festival Chorus
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor

String Quartet 4 Op 83 							
Emerson String Quartet

Producer: Amy Wheel, BBC Cymru Wales

Composer of the Week: Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Donald Macleod turns his attention to the middle of the Russian composer's life.

This week Donald Macleod explores Dmitri Shostakovich the family man - turning his attention to the middle of the Russian composer's life.

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Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)

An important call

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