Artist artifact

Modern

Dmitri Shostakovich

Soviet-era composer whose symphonies and quartets encode public triumph and private dread under political pressure.

Biography

Soviet-era composer whose symphonies and quartets encode public triumph and private dread under political pressure.

Influence

Model for art under censorship—ambiguity as survival; string quartets especially remain moral documents.

Historical context

Soviet-era composer whose symphonies and quartets encode public triumph and private dread under political pressure. Model for art under censorship—ambiguity as survival; string quartets especially remain moral documents. Public denunciations and rehabilitations tracked Soviet cultural politics almost as closely as Party congresses.

Associated instruments

  • Composition
  • Piano

Specimen note

Public denunciations and rehabilitations tracked Soviet cultural politics almost as closely as Party congresses.