The Presidential Library marking the birthday of Dmitry Shostakovich

September 25, 2023 marks the 117th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding composer, teacher and pianist Dmitry Shostakovich. He was born in Leningrad and, perhaps, that’s why, like no one else, he felt all the pain of his native city and its inhabitants when the blockade began. It was he who was destined to create the score of a musical work that instilled in the Leningraders the spirit of victory and perseverance in the face of the enemy.

The Presidential Library’s collections contain this legendary score of the Leningrad Symphony, which lay in front of conductor Samuil Samosud during the first performance of the work in March 1942 by soloists of the Bolshoi Theater orchestra evacuated to Kuibyshev. And already in August 1942, Carl Eliasberg conducted it in the hall of the Leningrad Philharmonic.

The portal features the electronic reproduction of the program: “The Seventh Symphony of Dmitry Shostakovich”. The symphony was performed by the Leningrad Symphony Orchestra under the direction of conductor Eliasberg in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic on August 9, 1942. The words of the author of the musical work are written on the program: “I dedicate my 7th symphony".

The Presidential Library and the St. Petersburg Radio House, where the unique score is stored, gave it a second life, making it available in the electronic environment to all musicians not only in Russia, but also abroad. A paper copy does not tolerate frequent use and leafing. The score literally “went through” the difficult war and siege years, so it is priceless. Thanks to the digitized version, you can now see the original music document with your own eyes. Each of the 4 movements of the symphony is presented in a separate notebook. The pages of the score contain notes from conductors Samuil Samosud and Karl Eliasberg. On the back of the title page of the first notebook the composition of the orchestra (instruments) and information about the first performance of the symphony are indicated.

More information about how the St. Petersburg Radio House broadcast the score of Dmitry Shostakovich’s 7th symphony is available in the video on the Presidential Library’s portal.