Dmitry Shostakovich: A Portrait (Enhanced..‪.‬

Includes audio extracts


Dmitry Shostakovich (1906–1975) achieved international success when still in his teens. He went on to become the leading light in Russian music of the Soviet era and a mainstay of concert halls in Europe and America. Yet this fame was to be increasingly accompanied by debate between East and West over just what his music was about — an ideological battle that has only intensified in the decades since his death. This iBook presents a detailed outline of Shostakovich’s achievement. This iBook includes 2½ hours of music from nine symphonies, two string quartets, two ballet suites, Piano Concerto No. 2, The Gadfly, Hamlet and other works, as well as Shostakovich himself playing the piano and making a radio address.


Audio samples are contained in the text: just tap to listen while you read.