Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Is Shostakovich's 7th Symphony an homage to the city of Leningrad or is it something else?*  Tonight at 7:00 on the “Evening Concert” on WILL-FM 90.9 guest conductor Jaap van Zweden leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony, the “Leningrad” Symphony recorded in concert Fall 2014 at Symphony Center, Chicago.  Also on the program, Yuja Wang is the soloist in Prokofiev’s “3rd Piano Concerto”.

Tuesday February 17: Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO #15-07)

Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 (Leningrad) (Jaap van Zweden, conductor)

Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 (Yuja Wang, piano; Sakari Oramo, conductor)

*Whether or not Shostakovich really conceived the idea of the 7th symphony with the [WW II] siege of Leningrad in mind, it was officially claimed [by the Soviet government] as a representation of the people of Leningrad’s brave resistance to the German invaders and an authentic piece of patriotic art at a time when morale needed boosting. The "Leningrad" Shostakovich reportedly had in mind was not the one that withstood the German siege. Rather, it was the one "that Stalin destroyed and Hitler merely finished off". [from wikipedia, their source = Volkov. Testimony. New York: Harper & Row, 1979]