ABSTRACT
Oftentimes in history, a book, a poem, or a song becomes the symbol of national achievement. But never before has an orchestral work, a symphony, become a peoples Marseillaise during a mortal conflict. This extraordinary accomplishment was achieved by the Russian composer, Dmitri Shostakovitch. There was enough in the story of the Symphony to stir imagination. It was written in Leningrad during the siege. Shostakovitch served as fire warden in the unit of the Leningrad Conservatory, and was in constant peril from air raids.
