Author of the 7th Leningrad Symphony. Leningrad Symphony

Symphony No. 7 “Leningrad”

Shostakovich's 15 symphonies constitute one of greatest phenomena musical literature XX century. Several of them carry a specific “program” related to history or war. The idea for “Leningradskaya” arose from personal experience.

“Our victory over fascism, our future victory over the enemy,
to my beloved city Leningrad, I dedicate my seventh symphony"
(D. Shostakovich)

I speak for everyone who died here.
In my lines are their muffled steps,
Their eternal and hot breath.
I speak for everyone who lives here
Who went through fire, and death, and ice.
I speak like your flesh, people,
By the right of shared suffering...
(Olga Berggolts)

In June 1941 fascist Germany invaded Soviet Union and soon Leningrad found itself under a siege that lasted 18 months and entailed countless hardships and deaths. In addition to those killed in the bombing, more than 600,000 Soviet citizens died of starvation. Many froze or died due to lack of medical care - the number of victims of the siege is estimated at almost a million. In a besieged city, enduring terrible hardships along with thousands of others, Shostakovich began work on his Symphony No. 7. He had never dedicated his major works to anyone before, but this symphony became an offering to Leningrad and its inhabitants. The composer was driven by love for his native city and these truly heroic times of struggle.
Work on this symphony began at the very beginning of the war. From the first days of the war, Shostakovich, like many of his fellow countrymen, began working for the needs of the front. He dug trenches and was on duty at night during air raids.

He made arrangements for concert brigades going to the front. But, as always, this unique musician-publicist already had a major symphonic plan ripening in his head, dedicated to everything that was happening. He began writing the Seventh Symphony. The first part was completed in the summer. He wrote the second in September already in besieged Leningrad.

In October, Shostakovich and his family were evacuated to Kuibyshev. Unlike the first three parts, which were created literally in one breath, work on the finale was progressing poorly. It is not surprising that the last part did not work out for a long time. The composer understood that from the symphony, dedicated to the war, will expect a solemn victorious final. But there was no reason for this yet, and he wrote as his heart dictated.

On December 27, 1941, the symphony was completed. Starting with the Fifth Symphony, almost all of the composer's works in this genre were performed by his favorite orchestra - the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by E. Mravinsky.

But, unfortunately, Mravinsky’s orchestra was far away, in Novosibirsk, and the authorities insisted on an urgent premiere. After all, the symphony was dedicated by the author to the feat hometown. It was given political significance. The premiere took place in Kuibyshev performed by an orchestra Bolshoi Theater under the direction of S. Samosud. After this, the symphony was performed in Moscow and Novosibirsk. But the most remarkable premiere took place in besieged Leningrad. Musicians were gathered from everywhere to perform it. Many of them were exhausted. Before the start of rehearsals, we had to put them in the hospital - feed them, treat them. On the day the symphony was performed, all artillery forces were sent to suppress enemy firing points. Nothing should have interfered with this premiere.

The Philharmonic hall was full. The audience was very diverse. The concert was attended by sailors, armed infantrymen, air defense soldiers dressed in sweatshirts, and emaciated regulars of the Philharmonic. The performance of the symphony lasted 80 minutes. All this time, the enemy’s guns were silent: the artillerymen defending the city received orders to suppress the fire of German guns at all costs.

Shostakovich's new work shocked the audience: many of them cried without hiding their tears. Great music was able to express what united people at that difficult time: faith in victory, sacrifice, boundless love to your city and country.

During its performance, the symphony was broadcast on the radio, as well as over the loudspeakers of the city network. It was heard not only by the residents of the city, but also by the German troops besieging Leningrad.

On July 19, 1942, the symphony was performed in New York, and after that its victorious march around the world began.

The first movement begins with a broad, sing-song epic melody. It develops, grows, and is filled with more and more power. Recalling the process of creating the symphony, Shostakovich said: “While working on the symphony, I thought about the greatness of our people, about their heroism, about the best ideals of humanity, about the wonderful qualities of man...” All this is embodied in the theme of the main part, which is related to the Russian heroic themes of sweeping intonations, bold wide melodic moves, heavy unisons.

The side part is also songlike. It's like a calm lullaby. Its melody seems to dissolve in silence. Everything breathes calm peaceful life.

But then, from somewhere far away, the beat of a drum is heard, and then a melody appears: primitive, similar to couplets - an expression of everyday life and vulgarity. It's like puppets moving. Thus begins the “invasion episode” - a stunning picture of the invasion of destructive force.

At first the sound seems harmless. But the theme is repeated 11 times, becoming increasingly stronger. Its melody does not change, it only gradually acquires the sound of more and more new instruments, turning into powerful chord complexes. So this topic, which at first seemed not threatening, but stupid and vulgar, turns into a colossal monster - a grinding machine of destruction. It seems that she will crush all living things in her path.

The writer A. Tolstoy called this music “the dance of learned rats to the tune of the pied piper.” It seems that the learned rats, obedient to the will of the rat catcher, enter the battle.

The invasion episode is written in the form of variations on a constant theme - passacaglia.

Even before the start of the Great Patriotic War Shostakovich wrote variations on a constant theme, similar in concept to Ravel's Bolero. He showed it to his students. The theme is simple, as if dancing, which is accompanied by the beat of a snare drum. It grew to enormous power. At first it sounded harmless, even frivolous, but it grew into a terrible symbol of suppression. The composer shelved this work without performing or publishing it. It turns out that this episode was written earlier. So what did the composer want to portray with them? The terrible march of fascism across Europe or the attack of totalitarianism on the individual? (Note: Totalitarian is a regime in which the state dominates all aspects of society, in which there is violence, the destruction of democratic freedoms and human rights).

At that moment, when it seems that the iron colossus is moving with a roar straight towards the listener, the unexpected happens. Opposition begins. A dramatic motif appears, which is usually called the motif of resistance. Moans and screams can be heard in the music. It's as if a grand symphonic battle is being played out.

After a powerful climax, the reprise sounds dark and gloomy. The theme of the main part in it sounds like a passionate speech addressed to all humanity, complete great power protest against evil. Particularly expressive is the melody of the side part, which has become melancholy and lonely. An expressive bassoon solo appears here.

It's no longer a lullaby, but rather a cry punctuated by painful spasms. Only in the coda the main part sounds in a major key, as if affirming the overcoming of the forces of evil. But from afar you can hear the beat of a drum. The war is still ongoing.

The next two parts are designed to show the spiritual wealth of a person, the strength of his will.

The second movement is a scherzo in soft tones. Many critics in this music saw a picture of Leningrad with transparent white nights. This music combines smile and sadness, light humor and self-absorption, creating an attractive and bright image.

The third movement is a majestic and soulful adagio. It opens with a chorale - a kind of requiem for the dead. This is followed by a pathetic statement from the violins. The second theme, according to the composer, conveys “rapture of life, admiration for nature.” The dramatic middle of the part is perceived as a memory of the past, a reaction to the tragic events of the first part.

The finale begins with a barely audible timpani tremolo. It’s as if strength is gradually gathering. This is how one prepares main topic, full of indomitable energy. This is an image of struggle, of popular anger. It is replaced by an episode in the rhythm of a saraband - again a memory of the fallen. And then begins a slow ascent to the triumph of the completion of the symphony, where the main theme of the first movement is heard by trumpets and trombones as a symbol of peace and future victory.

No matter how wide the variety of genres is in Shostakovich’s work, in terms of his talent he is, first of all, a composer-symphonist. His work is characterized by a huge scale of content, a tendency towards generalized thinking, the severity of conflicts, dynamism and a strict logic of development. These features were especially evident in his symphonies. Shostakovich wrote fifteen symphonies. Each of them is a page in the history of the life of the people. It was not for nothing that the composer was called the musical chronicler of his era. And not as a dispassionate observer, as if observing everything that is happening from above, but as a person subtly reacting to the upheavals of his era, living the life of his contemporaries, involved in everything that happens around him. He could say about himself in the words of the great Goethe:

- I'm not an outsider,
And a participant in earthly affairs!

Like no one else, he was distinguished by his responsiveness to everything that happened to him. home country and its people and even more broadly - with all humanity. Thanks to this sensitivity, he was able to capture the characteristic features of that era and reproduce them in highly artistic images. And in this regard, the composer’s symphonies are a unique monument to the history of mankind.

August 9, 1942. On this day, in besieged Leningrad, the famous performance of Dmitry Shostakovich’s Seventh (“Leningrad”) Symphony took place.

Organized and conducted by Karl Ilyich Eliasberg - chief conductor Leningrad Radio Orchestra. While the symphony was being performed, not a single enemy shell fell on the city: by order of the commander of the Leningrad Front, Marshal Govorov, all enemy points were suppressed in advance. The guns were silent while Shostakovich's music sounded. It was heard not only by the residents of the city, but also by the German troops besieging Leningrad. Many years after the war, the Germans said: “Then, on August 9, 1942, we realized that we would lose the war. We felt your strength, capable of overcoming hunger, fear and even death..."

Starting from its performance in besieged Leningrad, the symphony had enormous propaganda and political significance for the Soviet and Russian authorities.

On August 21, 2008, a fragment of the first part of the symphony was performed in the South Ossetian city of Tskhinvali, destroyed by Georgian troops, by an orchestra Mariinsky Theater under the direction of Valery Gergiev.

“This symphony is a reminder to the world that the horror of the siege and bombing of Leningrad must not be repeated...”
(V. A. Gergiev)

Presentation

Included:
1. Presentation 18 slides, ppsx;
2. Sounds of music:
Symphony No. 7 “Leningradskaya”, op. 60, 1 part, mp3;
3. Article, docx.

Shostakovich began writing his seventh symphony in besieged Leningrad in the summer of 1941. While working on the work, he lived in a barracks situation at the conservatory, like a member of the fire brigade. The composer repeatedly submitted applications with a request to be sent to the active army, but instead received an order to evacuate. The symphony was finished in Kuibyshev. Its premiere took place there on March 5, 1942. The orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater of the USSR was conducted by Samuil Abramovich Samosud. Film scriptwriter Alexei Kapler, who was present at the premiere, recalled: “ The words “ovation” and “success” in no way convey what was happening in the hall. Many had tears in their eyes. The creator of this creation appeared on stage again and again, and it was hard to believe that it was he, a 35-year-old thin, bespectacled intellectual who looked very young, who could cause such a storm of emotions».

The day after the premiere of the symphony, a copy of the score was delivered by plane to Moscow. The first performance in the capital took place on March 29, in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions. Olga Berggolts recalled: “ ...to the supernatural ovation of the audience standing in front of the symphony, Shostakovich came out with the face of a teenager, thin, fragile, seemingly unprotected. And the people, standing, applauded and applauded their son and defender of Leningrad. And I looked at him, a boy, a fragile man with big glasses, who, excited and incredibly embarrassed, without the slightest smile, bowed awkwardly, nodded his head to the listeners, and I thought: “This man is stronger than Hitler, we will definitely defeat the Germans.”».

Major American conductors - Leopold Stokowski, Arturo Toscanini, Eugene Ormandy - turned to the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries with a request to urgently send four copies of the scores and a film recording of the performance of the symphony in the Soviet Union to the United States. Photocopies of the sheet music were sent to the United States by military aircraft, and on July 19 the American premiere of the Leningrad Symphony took place in New York. Performance by the New York Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arturo Toscanini, broadcast on radio stations in the USA, Canada and Latin America, was heard by about twenty million people. " What devil can defeat a people capable of creating music like this!"- wrote an American music critic in the summer of 1942.

But they were especially looking forward to the Seventh Symphony in the composer’s homeland - Leningrad. On July 2, 1942, a twenty-year-old pilot, Lieutenant Litvinov, was under continuous German fire. anti-aircraft guns, having broken through the ring of fire, delivered to besieged city together with medications, four volumes music notebooks. The next day a short note appeared in Leningradskaya Pravda: “ The score of Dmitry Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony was delivered to Leningrad by plane. Its public performance will take place in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic».

When the chief conductor of the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra of the Leningrad Radio Committee, Karl Ilyich Eliasberg, opened the first notebook of the score, he became gloomy. Where can you get such a huge orchestra? Eight horns, six trumpets, six trombones!.. On the score in Shostakovich’s hand it was written: “The participation of these instruments in the performance of the symphony is mandatory.” And “required” is underlined in bold. To perform a symphony, about eighty musicians were required, and in the radio committee orchestra of one hundred and five orchestral players, only fifteen could play. The rest were either evacuated, or died of starvation, or became dystrophic, unable to even move. And the conductor himself looked like his own shadow.

They were looking for musicians all over the city. Eliasberg, staggering from weakness, toured hospitals. But there were still not enough musicians. Then it was decided to ask for help from the military command: many musicians defended the city with weapons in their hands. The request was granted. By order of the head of the Political Directorate of the Leningrad Front, Major General Dmitry Kholostov, musicians who were in the army and navy were ordered to arrive in the city, having with them musical instruments. In their documents it was written: “seconded to the Eliasberg Orchestra.”

Rehearsals lasted five to six hours in the morning and evening, sometimes ending late at night. The musicians were given special passes that allowed them to walk around Leningrad at night. Posters appeared in the city announcing that on August 9 the premiere of Dmitry Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony would take place in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic.

We were preparing for the concert on the front line. The commander of the Leningrad Front, Lieutenant General Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov, invited artillery commanders to his place. The task was stated briefly: “During the performance of the Seventh Symphony by composer Shostakovich, not a single enemy shell should explode in Leningrad!”

And the artillerymen sat down to their “scores”. How many shells will it take? What calibers? Which enemy batteries should be suppressed first? Everything had to be calculated in advance. Not only the enemy’s batteries were marked on the maps, but also their observation posts, headquarters, and communications centers. Enemy artillery had to be “blinded” by destroying its observation posts, “stunned” by interrupting communication lines, and “decapitated” by defeating its headquarters. The commander of the artillery of the 42nd Army, Major General Mikhail Semyonovich Mikhalkin, was appointed “conductor” of the artillery “orchestra”.

So two rehearsals went on, side by side. The Nazis, of course, knew about the first. And, undoubtedly, they were preparing to disrupt the concert. But they knew nothing about the second rehearsal.

And then August 9th arrived. The army gave its concert - a concert of the artillery of the Leningrad Front, which hit the enemy artillery and airfields with all its might. Not a single shell fell on the city streets, not a single plane managed to take off from enemy airfields during the entire eighty minutes that Shostakovich’s music sounded.

The symphony was broadcast over the radio and loudspeakers of the city network. Those who could not get to the Philharmonic listened to the concert on the streets near loudspeakers, in apartments, in dugouts and dugouts on the front line. The German troops besieging the city also listened to the concert. As they later said, the Germans simply went crazy when they heard this music. They believed that the city was almost dead. After all, a year ago, Hitler promised that on August 9, German troops would march through Palace Square, and a gala banquet will be held at the Astoria Hotel. After the war, two tourists from the GDR, having found Eliasberg, admitted to him: “ Then, on August 9, 1942, we realized that we would lose the war. We felt your strength, capable of overcoming hunger, fear and even death...»

The poet Nikolai Tikhonov, returning from a concert, wrote in his diary: “ Shostakovich's symphony... was not played as grandly, perhaps, as in Moscow or New York, but the Leningrad performance had its own - Leningrad, something that merged the musical storm with the battle storm rushing over the city. She was born in this city, and perhaps only in it could she have been born. This is her special strength».

Karl Ilyich Eliasberg recalled: “ It’s not for me to judge the success of that memorable concert. Let me just say that we have never played with such enthusiasm before. And this is not surprising: the majestic theme of the Motherland, which is overshadowed by the ominous shadow of the invasion, the pathetic requiem in honor of the fallen heroes - all this was close and dear to every orchestra member, to everyone who listened to us that evening. And when the crowded hall burst into applause, it seemed to me that I was again in peaceful Leningrad, that the most brutal of all wars that had ever raged on the planet was already over, that the forces of reason, goodness and humanity had won».

The conductor’s work was equated to a feat, awarding him the Order of the Red Star “for the fight against Nazi invaders"and conferring the title "Honored Artist of the RSFSR."

And for Leningraders, August 9, 1942 became, in the words of Olga Berggolts, “Victory Day in the midst of war.” And the symbol of this Victory, the symbol of the triumph of Man over obscurantism, became the Seventh, “Leningrad” symphony of Dmitry Shostakovich.

There are examples in the history of music that make you wonder who a musician or composer really is: a person who naturally has certain psychological characteristics- or a prophet?

At the end of the 1930s. decided to repeat the experiment carried out in the famous "" - to write variations on the melody of an ostinato. The melody was simple, even primitive, in the rhythm of a march, but with some hint of “dancing”. It seemed harmless, but the timbre and texture variations gradually turned the theme into a real monster... Apparently, the author perceived it as a kind of composer’s “experiment” - he did not publish it, did not care about the execution, and did not show it to anyone except his colleagues and students. So these variations would have remained a “prototype”, but very little time passed - and not a musical, but a real monster revealed itself to the world.

During the Great Patriotic War, Dmitry Dmitrievich lived the same life with his fellow citizens - under the slogan “Everything for the front! Everything for Victory! Digging trenches, being on duty during air raids - he participated in all this along with other Leningraders. He also devotes his talent as a composer to the cause of the fight against fascism - front-line concert brigades received many of his arrangements. At the same time he is thinking about a new symphony. In the summer of 1941, its first part was completed, and in the fall, after the start of the blockade, the second. And although he completed it already in Kuibyshev - in evacuation - the name “Leningradskaya” was assigned to Symphony No. 7, because its concept matured in besieged Leningrad.

The wide, “endlessly” unfolding melody of the main part opens the symphony, epic power is heard in its unisons. The image of a happy, peaceful life is complemented by a cantilena side part - the rhythm of calm swaying in the accompaniment makes it similar to a lullaby. This theme dissolves in the high register of the solo violin, giving way to an episode that is usually called the “theme of the fascist invasion.” These are the same timbre and texture variations created before the war. Although at first the theme, carried out alternately by the woodwinds against a backdrop of drumming, does not seem particularly scary, its hostility to the themes of the exposition is obvious from the very beginning: the main and secondary parts are of a song nature - and this marching theme is absolutely devoid of such. The squareness, which is not characteristic of the main part, is emphasized here, the themes of the exposition are extended melodies - and this one breaks up into short motives. In its development, it reaches colossal power - it seems that nothing can stop this soulless war machine - but the tonality suddenly changes, and a decisive descending theme (“theme of resistance”) appears in the brass, entering into a fierce struggle with the theme of invasion. And although there was no development involving the themes of the exposition (it is replaced by an episode of the “invasion”), in the reprise they appear in a transformed form: the main part turns into a desperate appeal, the side part into a mournful monologue, only briefly returning to its original appearance, but in the end part, the drumbeat and echoes of the invasion theme appear again.

The second movement, a scherzo at a moderate tempo, sounds unexpectedly soft after the horrors of the first movement: chamber orchestration, grace of the first theme, length, songfulness of the second, conducted by the solo oboe. Only in the middle section do images of war remind of themselves with a terrible, grotesque theme in the rhythm of a waltz, turning into a march.

The third part - adagio with its pathetic, majestic and at the same time heartfelt themes - is perceived as a glorification of the native city to which it is dedicated Leningrad Symphony. The intonation of the requiem is heard in the choral introduction. The middle section is characterized by drama and intense feelings.

The third part flows into the fourth without interruption. Against the background of the tremolo of the timpani, intonations gather, from which emerges the energetic, impetuous main part of the finale. The theme sounds like a tragic requiem in the rhythm of a saraband, but the main part sets the tone for the finale - its development leads to a coda, where the brass solemnly proclaim main party first part.

Symphony No. 7 was first performed in March 1942 by the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra, which was then evacuated in Kuibyshev, conducted by. But the true example of heroism was the Leningrad premiere, which took place in August. The score was delivered to the city on a military plane along with medicines, the registration of the surviving musicians was announced on the radio, and the conductor looked for performers in hospitals. Some musicians who were in the army were sent to military units. And so these people gathered for a rehearsal - exhausted, with hands roughened by weapons, the flutist had to be brought in on a sleigh - his legs were paralyzed... The first rehearsal lasted only a quarter of an hour - the performers were not able to withstand any more. Not all the orchestra members lived to see the concert, which took place two months later - some died from exhaustion... It seemed unthinkable to perform a complex symphonic work in such conditions - but the musicians, led by the conductor, did the impossible: the concert took place.

Even before the Leningrad premiere - in July - the symphony was performed in New York under the direction of. The words of an American critic who was present at this concert are widely known: “What devil can defeat a people capable of creating music like this!”

Musical Seasons

70 years ago, on August 9, 1942, in besieged Leningrad, Dmitry Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony in C major, which later received the name “Leningrad”, was performed.

“With pain and pride I looked at my beloved city. And it stood, scorched by fires, battle-hardened, having experienced the deep suffering of a fighter, and was even more beautiful in its stern grandeur. How could one not love this city, built by Peter, one cannot tell everything the world about its glory, about the courage of its defenders... My weapon was music", the composer later wrote.

In May 1942, the score was delivered to the besieged city by plane. At a concert at the Leningrad Philharmonic, Symphony No. 7 was performed by the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra Leningrad Radio Committee under the direction of conductor Carl Eliasberg. Some of the orchestra members died of hunger and were replaced by musicians recalled from the front.

"The circumstances under which the Seventh was created were publicized throughout the world: the first three movements were written in about a month in Leningrad, under the fire of the Germans who reached that city in September 1941. The symphony was thus considered a direct reflection of the events of the first days of the war. No one took into account the composer's style of work. Shostakovich wrote very quickly, but only after the music was fully formed in his mind as a reflection of the pre-war fate of both the composer and Leningrad."

From the book "Testimony"

“The first listeners did not connect the famous “march” from the first part of the Seventh with the German invasion; this is the result of later propaganda. Conductor Evgeny Mravinsky, a friend of the composer of those years (the Eighth Symphony is dedicated to him), recalled that after hearing the march from the Seventh on the radio in March 1942, he thought that the composer had created a comprehensive picture of stupidity and stupid vulgarity.

The popularity of the march sequence obscured the obvious fact that the first movement - and indeed the work as a whole - is full of requiem-style sorrow. Shostakovich emphasized at every opportunity that for him central place This music is occupied by the intonation of a requiem. But the composer's words were deliberately ignored. The pre-war years, in reality full of hunger, fear and massacres of innocent people during the period of Stalin's terror, were now portrayed in official propaganda as a bright and carefree idyll. So why not present the symphony as a “symbol of the fight” against the Germans?”

From the book "Testimony. Memoirs of Dmitry Shostakovich,
recorded and edited by Solomon Volkov."

RIA News. Boris Kudoyarov

Residents of besieged Leningrad emerge from a bomb shelter after the all-clear

Shocked by Shostakovich's music, Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy wrote about this work:

"...The seventh symphony is dedicated to the triumph of the human in man.<…>

The Seventh Symphony arose from the conscience of the Russian people, who without hesitation accepted mortal combat with the black forces. Written in Leningrad, it has grown to the size of great world art, understandable at all latitudes and meridians, because it tells the truth about man in an unprecedented time of his misfortunes and trials. The symphony is transparent in its enormous complexity, it is both stern and masculinely lyrical, and all flies into the future, revealing itself beyond the victory of man over the beast.<…>

The theme of war arises remotely and at first looks like some kind of simple and eerie dance, like learned rats dancing to the tune of the rat catcher. Like a rising wind, this theme begins to sway the orchestra, it takes possession of it, grows, and becomes stronger. The rat catcher with his iron rats rises from behind the hill... This is a war moving. She triumphs in the timpani and drums, the violins answer with a cry of pain and despair. And it seems to you, squeezing the oak railings with your fingers: is it really, really, everything has already been crushed and torn to pieces? There is confusion and chaos in the orchestra.<…>

No, man is stronger than the elements. Stringed instruments start to fight. The harmony of violins and human voices of bassoons is more powerful than the roar of a donkey skin stretched over drums. With the desperate beating of your heart you help the triumph of harmony. And the violins harmonize the chaos of war, silence its cavernous roar.

The damned rat catcher is no more, he is carried away into the black abyss of time. The bows are lowered, and many of the violinists have tears in their eyes. Only the thoughtful and stern human voice of the bassoon can be heard - after so many losses and disasters. There is no return to stormless happiness. Before the gaze of a person, wise in suffering, is the path traveled, where he seeks justification for life."

The concert in besieged Leningrad became a kind of symbol of the resistance of the city and its inhabitants, but the music itself inspired everyone who heard it. This is how I wrote it poetess about one of the first performances of Shostakovich’s work:

“And so on March 29, 1942, the joint orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater and the All-Union Radio Committee performed the Seventh Symphony, which the composer dedicated to Leningrad and called the Leningrad Symphony.

IN Hall of Columns Famous pilots, writers, and Stakhanovites came to the House of the Unions. There were many front-line soldiers here - with Western Front, from the South, from the North - they came to Moscow on business, for a few days, in order to go to the battlefields again tomorrow, and still found time to come listen to the Seventh - Leningrad - Symphony. They put on all their orders, granted to them by the Republic, and everyone was in their best dresses, festive, beautiful, elegant. And in the Hall of Columns it was very warm, everyone was without coats, the electricity was on, and there was even a smell of perfume.

RIA News. Boris Kudoyarov

Leningrad during the siege during the Great Patriotic War. Air defense fighters early in the morning on one of the city streets

The first sounds of the Seventh Symphony are pure and joyful. You listen to them greedily and in surprise - this is how we once lived, before the war, how happy we were, how free, how much space and silence there was around. I want to listen to this wise, sweet music of the world endlessly. But suddenly and very quietly a dry crackling sound is heard, the dry beat of a drum - the whisper of a drum. It’s still a whisper, but it’s becoming more and more persistent, more and more intrusive. In a short musical phrase - sad, monotonous and at the same time somehow defiantly cheerful - the instruments of the orchestra begin to echo each other. The dry beat of the drum is louder. War. The drums are already thundering. A short, monotonous and alarming musical phrase takes over the entire orchestra and becomes scary. The music is so loud it's hard to breathe. There is no escape from it... This is the enemy advancing on Leningrad. He threatens death, the trumpets growl and whistle. Death? Well, we are not afraid, we will not retreat, we will not surrender ourselves to the enemy. The music rages furiously... Comrades, this is about us, this is about the September days of Leningrad, full of anger and challenge. The orchestra thunders furiously - the fanfare rings in the same monotonous phrase and uncontrollably carries the soul towards mortal combat... And when you can no longer breathe from the thunder and roar of the orchestra, suddenly everything breaks off, and the theme of war turns into a majestic requiem. A lonely bassoon, covering the raging orchestra, raises its low, tragic voice skyward. And then he sings alone, alone in the ensuing silence...

“I don’t know how to characterize this music,” says the composer himself, “maybe it contains the tears of a mother, or even the feeling when the grief is so great that there are no more tears left.”

Comrades, this is about us, this is our great tearless grief for our relatives and friends - the defenders of Leningrad, who died in battles on the outskirts of the city, who fell on its streets, who died in its half-blind houses...

We haven’t cried for a long time, because our grief is greater than tears. But, having killed the tears that eased the soul, grief did not kill the life in us. And the Seventh Symphony talks about this. Its second and third parts, also written in Leningrad, are transparent, joyful music, full of rapture for life and admiration for nature. And this is also about us, about people who have learned to love and appreciate life in a new way! And it is clear why the third part merges with the fourth: in the fourth part, the theme of war, excitedly and defiantly repeated, bravely moves into the theme of the coming victory, and the music rages freely again, and its solemn, menacing, almost cruel rejoicing reaches unimaginable power, physically shaking the vaults building.

We will defeat the Germans.

Comrades, we will definitely defeat them!

We are ready for all the trials that still await us, ready for the triumph of life. This triumph is evidenced by the "Leningrad Symphony", a work of world-wide resonance, created in our besieged, starving city, deprived of light and warmth - in a city fighting for the happiness and freedom of all mankind.

And the people who came to listen to the “Leningrad Symphony” stood up and stood applauding the composer, son and defender of Leningrad. And I looked at him, small, fragile, with big glasses, and thought: “This man is stronger than Hitler...”

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

But they waited with special impatience for “their” Seventh Symphony in besieged Leningrad.

Back in August 1941, on the 21st, when the appeal of the Leningrad City Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the City Council and the Military Council of the Leningrad Front “Enemy at the Gates” was published, Shostakovich spoke on the city radio:

And now, when it sounded in Kuibyshev, Moscow, Tashkent, Novosibirsk, New York, London, Stockholm, Leningraders were waiting for her to come to their city, the city where she was born...

On July 2, 1942, a twenty-year-old pilot, Lieutenant Litvinov, under continuous fire from German anti-aircraft guns, broke through the ring of fire and delivered medicines and four voluminous music books with the score of the Seventh Symphony to the besieged city. They were already waiting for them at the airfield and taken away like the greatest treasure.

The next day, a short piece of information appeared in Leningradskaya Pravda: “The score of Dmitry Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony was delivered to Leningrad by plane. Its public performance will take place in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic.”

But when the chief conductor of the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra of the Leningrad Radio Committee, Carl Eliasberg, opened the first of four notebooks of the score, he became gloomy: instead of the usual three trumpets, three trombones and four horns, Shostakovich had twice as many. And even added drums! Moreover, on the score it is written in Shostakovich’s hand: “The participation of these instruments in the performance of the symphony is mandatory”. AND "Necessarily" boldly underlined. It became clear that the symphony could not be played with the few musicians still left in the orchestra. Yes, and they are theirs last concert played on December 7, 1941.

The frosts were severe then. The Philharmonic hall was not heated - there was nothing.

But people still came. We came to listen to music. Hungry, exhausted, wrapped in so much clothing that it was impossible to tell where the women were, where the men were - only one face stuck out. And the orchestra played, although the brass horns, trumpets, and trombones were scary to touch - they burned your fingers, the mouthpieces froze to your lips. And after this concert there were no more rehearsals. The music in Leningrad froze, as if frozen. Even the radio didn't broadcast it. And this is in Leningrad, one of the musical capitals of the world! And there was no one to play. Of the one hundred and five orchestra members, several people were evacuated, twenty-seven died of hunger, the rest became dystrophic, unable to even move.

When rehearsals resumed in March 1942, only 15 weakened musicians could play. 15 out of 105! Now, in July, it’s true that there are more, but even the few that are able to play were collected with such difficulty! What to do?

From the memoirs of Olga Berggolts.

“The only orchestra of the Radio Committee remaining in Leningrad at that time was reduced by hunger during our tragic first winter of the siege by almost half. I will never forget how, on a dark winter morning, the then artistic director of the Radio Committee, Yakov Babushkin (died at the front in 1943), dictated to the typist another report on the state of the orchestra: - The first violin is dying, the drum died on the way to work, the horn is dying... And yet, these surviving, terribly exhausted musicians and the leadership of the Radio Committee were fired up with the idea to perform the Seventh in Leningrad at all costs... Yasha Babushkin, through the city party committee, got our musicians additional rations, but still there were not enough people to perform the Seventh Symphony. Then, in Leningrad, a call was announced through the radio for all musicians in the city to come to the Radio Committee to work in the orchestra.”.

They were looking for musicians all over the city. Eliasberg, staggering from weakness, toured hospitals. He found drummer Zhaudat Aidarov in the dead room, where he noticed that the musician’s fingers moved slightly. “Yes, he’s alive!” - the conductor exclaimed, and this moment was the second birth of Jaudat. Without him, the performance of the Seventh would have been impossible - after all, he had to beat the drum roll in the “invasion theme”. The string group was selected, but a problem arose with the wind section: people simply physically could not blow in wind instruments. Some fainted right during rehearsals. Later, the musicians were assigned to the City Council canteen - they received a hot lunch once a day. But there were still not enough musicians. They decided to ask for help from the military command: many musicians were in the trenches, defending the city with weapons in their hands. The request was granted. By order of the head of the Political Directorate of the Leningrad Front, Major General Dmitry Kholostov, musicians who were in the army and navy were ordered to come to the city, to the Radio House, with musical instruments. And they reached out. In their documents it was written: “He is sent to the Eliasberg Orchestra.” The trombone player came from a machine gun company, and the violist escaped from the hospital. The horn player was sent to the orchestra by an anti-aircraft regiment, the flutist was brought in on a sled - his legs were paralyzed. The trumpeter stomped in his felt boots, despite the spring: his feet, swollen from hunger, did not fit into other shoes. The conductor himself looked like his own shadow.

Rehearsals have begun. They lasted for five to six hours in the morning and evening, sometimes ending late at night. The artists were given special passes that allowed them to walk around Leningrad at night. And the traffic police officers even gave the conductor a bicycle, and on Nevsky Prospekt one could see a tall, extremely emaciated man, diligently pedaling - hurrying to a rehearsal or to Smolny, or to the Polytechnic Institute - to the Political Directorate of the Front. During the breaks between rehearsals, the conductor hurried to settle many other matters of the orchestra. The knitting needles flashed merrily. The army bowler hat on the steering wheel clinked faintly. The city followed the progress of the rehearsals closely.

A few days later, posters appeared in the city, posted next to the proclamation “The enemy is at the gates.” They announced that on August 9, 1942, the premiere of Dmitry Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony would take place in the Great Hall of the Leningrad Philharmonic. The Big Symphony Orchestra of the Leningrad Radio Committee is playing. Conducted by K. I. Eliasberg. Sometimes right there, under the poster, there was a light table on which lay stacks of the concert program printed in the printing house. Behind him sat a warmly dressed pale woman, apparently still unable to warm up after the harsh winter. People stopped near her, and she handed them the concert program, printed very simply, casually, with only black ink.

On its first page there is an epigraph: “I dedicate my Seventh Symphony to our fight against fascism, our upcoming victory over the enemy, to my hometown - Leningrad. Dmitry Shostakovich." Below, large: “DIMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH’S SEVENTH SYMPHONY.” And at the very bottom, small: “Leningrad, 194 2". This program served entrance ticket for the first performance in Leningrad of the Seventh Symphony on August 9, 1942. Tickets sold out very quickly - everyone who could walk tried to get to this unusual concert.

One of the participants in the legendary performance of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony in besieged Leningrad, oboist Ksenia Matus, recalled:

“When I came to the radio, at first I felt scared. I saw people, musicians whom I knew well... Some were covered in soot, some were completely exhausted, it was unknown what they were wearing. I didn't recognize the people. The entire orchestra could not yet assemble for the first rehearsal. Many were simply unable to climb to the fourth floor, where the studio was located. Those who had more strength or stronger character took the rest under their arms and carried them upstairs. At first we rehearsed for only 15 minutes. And if not for Karl Ilyich Eliasberg, not for his assertive, heroic character, there would be no orchestra, no symphony in Leningrad. Although he was also dystrophic, like us. His wife brought him to rehearsals on a sleigh. I remember how at the first rehearsal he said: “Well, let’s...”, raised his hands, and they were shaking... So this image remained before my eyes for the rest of my life, this shot bird, these wings that -they will fall, and he will fall...

This is how we started working. Little by little we gained strength.

And on April 5, 1942, our first concert took place at the Pushkin Theater. Men first put on quilted jackets, and then jackets. We also wore everything under our dresses to keep warm. And the audience?

It was impossible to make out where the women were, where the men were, all wrapped up, packed, wearing mittens, collars raised, only one face sticking out... And suddenly Karl Ilyich comes out - in a white shirtfront, a clean collar, in general, like a first-class conductor. At the first moment his hands began to tremble again, but then it went... We played the concert in one section very well, there were no “kicks”, no hitches. But we didn’t hear any applause - we were still wearing mittens, we just saw that the whole hall was moving, animated...

After this concert, we somehow perked up at once, pulled ourselves up: “Guys! Our life begins! Real rehearsals began, we were even given extra food, and suddenly there was news that the score of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony was flying to us on a plane under bombing. Everything was organized instantly: the parts were planned, more musicians were recruited from military bands. And finally, the parts are on our consoles and we begin to practice. Of course, something didn’t work out for someone, people were exhausted, their hands were frostbitten... Our men worked in gloves with their fingers cut off... And just like that, rehearsal after rehearsal... We took the parts home to learn. So that everything is flawless. People from the Committee on Arts came to us, some commissions constantly listened to us. And we worked a lot, because at the same time we had to learn other programs. I remember such an incident. They played some fragment where the trumpet had a solo. And the trumpeter has the instrument on his knee. Karl Ilyich addresses him:

— First trumpet, why don’t you play?
- Karl Ilyich, I don’t have the strength to blow! No forces.
- Do you think we have strength?! Let's work!

It was phrases like these that made the whole orchestra work. There were also group rehearsals, at which Eliasberg approached everyone: play me this, like this, like this, like this... That is, if it weren’t for him, I repeat, there would be no symphony.

…August 9th, the day of the concert, finally approaches. In the city, by at least in the center there were posters. And here's another one unforgettable picture: there was no transport, people walked, women walked elegant dresses, but these dresses hung as if on cross-bracelets, too big for everyone, the men were in suits, also as if from someone else’s shoulder... Military vehicles with soldiers were driving up to the Philharmonic - for the concert... In general, there were quite a lot of people in the hall, and we felt an incredible uplift , because they understood that today we were taking a big exam.

Before the concert (the hall had not been heated all winter and was freezing), spotlights were installed upstairs to warm the stage, so that the air was warmer. When we went to our consoles, the spotlights were turned off. As soon as Karl Ilyich appeared, there was deafening applause, the whole hall stood up to greet him... And when we played, we also received a standing ovation. From somewhere a girl suddenly appeared with a bouquet of fresh flowers. It was so amazing!.. Backstage everyone rushed to hug each other and kiss. It was a great holiday. Still, we created a miracle.

This is how our life began to continue. We have risen. Shostakovich sent a telegram and congratulated us all.»

We were preparing for the concert on the front line. One day, when the musicians were just writing out the score of the symphony, the commander of the Leningrad Front, Lieutenant General Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov, invited the artillery commanders to his place. The task was stated briefly: During the performance of the Seventh Symphony by composer Shostakovich, not a single enemy shell should explode in Leningrad!

And the artillerymen sat down to their “scores”. As usual, first of all the timing was calculated. The performance of the symphony lasts 80 minutes. Spectators will begin to gather at the Philharmonic in advance. That's right, plus another thirty minutes. Plus the same amount for the departure of the audience from the theater. Hitler's guns must remain silent for 2 hours and 20 minutes. And therefore, our guns must speak for 2 hours and 20 minutes - perform their “fiery symphony”. How many shells will this require? What calibers? Everything should have been taken into account in advance. And finally, which enemy batteries should be suppressed first? Have they changed their positions? Have new guns been brought in? Intelligence had to answer these questions. The scouts coped with their task well. Not only the enemy’s batteries were marked on the maps, but also their observation posts, headquarters, and communications centers. Guns were guns, but the enemy artillery had to also be “blinded” by destroying observation posts, “stunned” by interrupting communication lines, “decapitated” by destroying headquarters. Of course, to perform this “fiery symphony,” the artillerymen had to determine the composition of their “orchestra.” It included many long-range guns, experienced artillerymen who had been conducting counter-battery warfare for many days. The “bass” group of the “orchestra” consisted of the main caliber guns of the Red Banner naval artillery Baltic Fleet. For artillery support musical symphony the front allocated three thousand large-caliber shells. The commander of the artillery of the 42nd Army, Major General Mikhail Semenovich Mikhalkin, was appointed “conductor” of the artillery “orchestra”.

So two rehearsals went on side by side.

One sounded with the voice of violins, horns, trombones, the other was carried out silently and even for the time being secretly. The Nazis, of course, knew about the first rehearsal. And they were undoubtedly preparing to disrupt the concert. After all, the squares of the central sections of the city had long been targeted by their artillerymen. Fascist shells more than once rumbled on the tram ring opposite the entrance to the Philharmonic building. But they knew nothing about the second rehearsal.

And the day came August 9, 1942. 355th day of the Leningrad blockade.

Half an hour before the start of the concert, General Govorov went out to his car, but did not get into it, but froze, intently listening to the distant rumble. I looked at my watch again and noticed standing nearby to the artillery generals: “Our “symphony” has already begun.

And on the Pulkovo Heights, Private Nikolai Savkov took his place at the gun. He did not know any of the orchestra musicians, but he understood that now they would be working with him, at the same time. The German guns were silent. Such a barrage of fire and metal fell on the heads of their artillerymen that there was no time to shoot: they should hide somewhere! Bury yourself in the ground!

The Philharmonic hall was filled with listeners. The leaders of the Leningrad party organization arrived: A. A. Kuznetsov, P. S. Popkov, Ya. F. Kapustin, A. I. Manakhov, G. F. Badaev. General D.I. Kholostov sat next to L.A. Govorov. Writers prepared to listen: Nikolai Tikhonov, Vera Inber, Vsevolod Vishnevsky, Lyudmila Popova...

And Karl Ilyich Eliasberg waved his baton. He later recalled:

“It’s not for me to judge the success of that memorable concert. Let me just say that we have never played with such enthusiasm before. And there is nothing surprising in this: the majestic theme of the Motherland, over which the ominous shadow of the invasion finds itself, the pathetic requiem in honor of the fallen heroes - all this was close and dear to every orchestra member, to everyone who listened to us that evening. And when the crowded hall burst into applause, it seemed to me that I was again in peaceful Leningrad, that the most brutal of all wars that had ever raged on the planet was already over, that the forces of reason, goodness and humanity had won.”

And soldier Nikolai Savkov, the performer of another “fiery symphony,” after its completion suddenly writes poetry:

...And when as a sign of the beginning
The conductor's baton rose
Above the front edge, like thunder, majestic
Another symphony has begun -
The symphony of our guards guns,
So that the enemy does not attack the city,
So that the city can listen to the Seventh Symphony. ...
And there’s a squall in the hall,
And along the front there is a squall. ...
And when people went to their apartments,
Full of high and proud feelings,
The soldiers lowered their gun barrels,
Protecting Arts Square from shelling.

This operation was called “Squall”. Not a single shell fell on the city streets, not a single plane managed to take off from enemy airfields while the audience was going to the concert in Big hall Philharmonic while the concert was going on, and when the audience returned home or to their military units after the concert. There was no transport, and people walked to the Philharmonic. Women are in elegant dresses. On the emaciated Leningrad women they hung like on a hanger. The men were in suits, also as if they were from someone else... Military vehicles drove up to the Philharmonic building directly from the front line. Soldiers, officers...

The concert has begun! And to the roar of the cannonade - It thundered all around, as usual - The invisible announcer said to Leningrad: "Attention! The blockade orchestra is playing!.." .

Those who could not get into the Philharmonic listened to the concert on the street near loudspeakers, in apartments, in dugouts and pancake houses on the front line. When the last sounds died down, an ovation broke out. The audience gave the orchestra a standing ovation. And suddenly a girl rose from the stalls, approached the conductor and handed him a huge bouquet of dahlias, asters, and gladioli. For many it was some kind of miracle, and they looked at the girl with some kind of joyful amazement - flowers in a city dying of hunger...

The poet Nikolai Tikhonov, returning from a concert, wrote in his diary:

“Shostakovich’s symphony... was played not as grandly, perhaps, as in Moscow or New York, but the Leningrad performance had its own - Leningrad, something that merged the musical storm with the battle storm rushing over the city. She was born in this city, and perhaps only in it could she have been born. This is her special strength.”

The symphony, which was broadcast on the radio and loudspeakers of the city network, was listened to not only by the residents of Leningrad, but also by the German troops besieging the city. As they later said, the Germans simply went crazy when they heard this music. They believed that the city was almost dead. After all, a year ago, Hitler promised that on August 9, German troops would march along Palace Square, and a gala banquet would be held at the Astoria Hotel!!! A few years after the war, two tourists from the GDR, who found Karl Eliasberg, confessed to him: “Then, on August 9, 1942, we realized that we would lose the war. We felt your strength, capable of overcoming hunger, fear and even death..."

The conductor’s work was equated to a feat, awarded the Order of the Red Star “for the fight against the Nazi invaders” and the title “Honored Artist of the RSFSR.”

Years will pass, and the poet Yuri Voronov, who survived the siege as a boy, will write about this in his poems: “...And the music rose above the darkness of the ruins, Destroying the silence of the dark apartments. And the stunned world listened to her... Could you do this if you were dying?..”

« 30 years later, on August 9, 1972, our orchestra, -recalls Ksenia Markyanovna Matus, -
I again received a telegram from Shostakovich, who was already seriously ill and therefore did not come to the performance:
“Today, like 30 years ago, I am with you with all my heart. This day lives in my memory, and I will forever retain a feeling of deepest gratitude to you, admiration for your dedication to art, your artistic and civic feat. Together with you, I honor the memory of those participants and eyewitnesses of this concert who did not live to see today. And to those who have gathered here today to celebrate this date, I send my heartfelt greetings. Dmitry Shostakovich."