The composer dedicated the symphony to besieged Leningrad. Leningrad Symphony

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 to besieged city medicines and four voluminous music notebooks with the score of the Seventh Symphony. 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 chief conductor When Carl Eliasberg opened the first of four notebooks of the score from the Leningrad Radio Committee's Big Symphony Orchestra, 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, having with them 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 public?

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 - the 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.
- What, 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 we understood that today we were taking a big exam.

Before the concert (the hall was not heated all winter, it was icy) 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 naval artillery of the Red Banner 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 didn’t know any of the orchestra’s 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 the 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 through Palace Square, and a gala banquet will take place 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 German fascist 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 Dmitry Shostakovich.

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 this day. And to those who have gathered here today to celebrate this date, I send my heartfelt greetings. Dmitry Shostakovich."

Dmitry Shostakovich began writing his seventh (Leningrad) symphony in September 1941, when the blockade ring closed around the city on the Neva. In those days, the composer submitted an application with a request to be sent to the front. Instead, he received orders to prepare to be sent to the “Mainland” and soon he and his family were sent to Moscow, and then to Kuibyshev. There the composer finished work on the symphony on December 27.

The premiere of the symphony took place on March 5, 1942 in Kuibyshev. The success was so overwhelming that the very next day a copy of her score was flown to Moscow. The first performance in Moscow took place in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions on March 29, 1942.

Major American conductors - Leopold Stokowski and Arturo Toscanini (New York Radio Symphony Orchestra - NBC), Sergei Koussevitzky (Boston Symphony Orchestra), Eugene Ormandy (Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra), Arthur Rodzinsky (Cleveland Symphony Orchestra) appealed to the All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with abroad (VOKS) with a request to urgently send by plane to the United States four copies of photocopies of the notes of Shostakovich’s “Seventh Symphony” and a tape recording of the performance of the symphony in the Soviet Union. They announced that they would be preparing the “Seventh Symphony” at the same time and that the first concerts would take place on the same day - an unprecedented case in the musical life of the United States. The same request came from England.

Dmitri Shostakovich wearing a fireman's helmet on the cover of Time magazine, 1942

The symphony's score was sent to the United States by military plane, and the first performance of the "Leningrad" symphony in New York was broadcast by radio stations in the USA, Canada and Latin America. About 20 million people heard it.

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

Carl Eliasberg

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 “required” is underlined in bold. It became clear that the symphony could not be played with the few musicians still left in the orchestra. And they played their last concert back in December 1941.

After the hungry winter of 1941, only 15 people remained in the orchestra, and more than a hundred were needed. From the story of the siege orchestra flutist Galina Lelyukhina: “They announced on the radio that all musicians were invited. It was hard to walk. I had scurvy and my legs hurt a lot. At first there were nine of us, but then more came. The conductor Eliasberg was brought in on a sleigh because he was completely weak from hunger. Men were even called from the front line. Instead of weapons, they had to pick up musical instruments. The symphony required great physical effort, especially the wind parts - a huge burden for a city where it was already hard to breathe.” Eliasberg found drummer Zhaudat Aidarov in the dead room, where he noticed that the musician’s fingers moved slightly. “Yes, he’s alive!” Reeling from weakness, Karl Eliasberg walked around hospitals in search of musicians. Musicians came from the front: a trombonist from a machine-gun company, a horn player from an anti-aircraft regiment... A violist ran away from the hospital, a flutist was brought in on a sled - his legs were paralyzed. The trumpeter came in felt boots, despite the summer: his feet, swollen from hunger, did not fit into other shoes.

Clarinet player Viktor Kozlov recalled: “At the first rehearsal, some musicians physically could not go up to the second floor, they listened below. They were so exhausted by hunger. Now it is impossible to even imagine such a degree of exhaustion. People could not sit, they were so thin. I had to stand during rehearsals.”

On August 9, 1942, in besieged Leningrad, the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra conducted by Carl Eliasberg (German by nationality) performed Dmitri Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony. The day of the first performance of Dmitry Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony was not chosen by chance. On August 9, 1942, the Nazis intended to capture the city - they even had invitation tickets prepared for a banquet in the restaurant of the Astoria Hotel.

On the day the symphony was performed, all artillery forces of Leningrad were sent to suppress enemy firing points. Despite the bombs and airstrikes, all the chandeliers in the Philharmonic were lit. 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, who believed that the city was practically dead.

After the war, two former German soldiers who fought near Leningrad found Eliasberg and confessed to him: “Then, on August 9, 1942, we realized that we would lose the war.”

They sobbed furiously, sobbing
For the sake of one single passion
At the stop - a disabled person
And Shostakovich is in Leningrad.
Alexander Mezhirov

Dmitri Shostakovich's seventh symphony is subtitled "Leningrad". But the name “Legendary” suits her better. And indeed, the history of creation, the history of rehearsals and the history of performance of this work have become almost legendary.

From concept to implementation

It is believed that the idea for the Seventh Symphony arose from Shostakovich immediately after the Nazi attack on the USSR. Let's give other opinions.
conducting before the war and for a completely different reason. But he found the character, expressed a presentiment.”
Composer Leonid Desyatnikov: “...with the “invasion theme” itself, not everything is completely clear: considerations were expressed that it was composed long before the start of the Great Patriotic War, and that Shostakovich connected this music with the Stalinist state machine, etc. "There is an assumption that the "invasion theme" is based on one of Stalin's favorite melodies - the Lezginka.
Some go even further, arguing that the Seventh Symphony was originally conceived by the composer as a symphony about Lenin, and only the war prevented its writing. The musical material was used by Shostakovich in the new work, although no real traces of the “work about Lenin” were found in Shostakovich’s handwritten legacy.
They point out the textural similarity of the “invasion theme” with the famous "Bolero" Maurice Ravel, as well as a possible transformation of Franz Lehar's melody from the operetta "The Merry Widow" (Count Danilo's aria Alsobitte, Njegus, ichbinhier... Dageh` ichzuMaxim).
The composer himself wrote: “When composing the theme of the invasion, I was thinking about a completely different enemy of humanity. Of course, I hated fascism. But not only German - I hated all fascism.”
Let's get back to the facts. During July - September 1941, Shostakovich wrote four-fifths of his new work. The completion of the second part of the symphony in the final score is dated September 17th. The end time of the score for the third movement is also indicated in the final autograph: September 29.
The most problematic is the dating of the beginning of work on the finale. It is known that at the beginning of October 1941, Shostakovich and his family were evacuated from besieged Leningrad to Moscow, and then moved to Kuibyshev. While in Moscow, he played the finished parts of the symphony in the newspaper office " Soviet art"On October 11, a group of musicians. “Even a quick listen to the symphony performed by the author for piano allows us to talk about it as a phenomenon of enormous scale,” testified one of the meeting participants and noted... that “There is no finale of the symphony yet."
In October-November 1941, the country experienced its most difficult moment in the fight against the invaders. Under these conditions, the optimistic ending conceived by the author (“In the finale, I would like to say about the beautiful future life, when the enemy is defeated"), did not put down to paper. The artist Nikolai Sokolov, who lived in Kuibyshev next door to Shostakovich, recalls: “Once I asked Mitya why he didn’t finish his Seventh. He replied: “... I can’t write yet... So many of our people are dying!” ... But with what energy and joy he set to work immediately after the news of the defeat of the Nazis near Moscow! He completed the symphony very quickly in almost two weeks." The counteroffensive of Soviet troops near Moscow began on December 6, and the first significant successes were achieved on December 9 and 16 (liberation of the cities of Yelets and Kalinin). Comparison of these dates and the period of work indicated by Sokolov ( two weeks), with the completion date of the symphony indicated in the final score (December 27, 1941), allows us to place with great confidence the start of work on the finale in mid-December.
Practicing the symphony with the orchestra began almost immediately after finishing the symphony. Bolshoi Theater under the leadership of Samuil Samosud. The symphony premiered on March 5, 1942.

"Secret weapon" of Leningrad

The siege of Leningrad is an unforgettable page in the history of the city, which evokes special respect for the courage of its inhabitants. Witnesses of the blockade that led to tragic death almost a million Leningraders. For 900 days and nights, the city withstood the siege of fascist troops. The Nazis had very high hopes for the capture of Leningrad. The capture of Moscow was expected after the fall of Leningrad. The city itself had to be destroyed. The enemy surrounded Leningrad from all sides.

Whole year he strangled him with an iron blockade, showered him with bombs and shells, and killed him with hunger and cold. And he began to prepare for the final assault. The enemy printing house had already printed tickets for the gala banquet in the best hotel in the city on August 9, 1942.

But the enemy did not know that a few months ago a new “secret weapon” appeared in the besieged city. He was delivered on a military plane with medicines that were so needed by the sick and wounded. These were four large voluminous notebooks covered with notes. They were eagerly awaited at the airfield and taken away like the greatest treasure. It was Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony!
When the conductor Karl Ilyich Eliasberg, tall and skinny person, picked up the treasured notebooks and began to look through them, the joy on his face gave way to grief. For this grandiose music to truly sound, 80 musicians were needed! Only then will the world hear it and be convinced that the city in which such music is alive will never give up, and that the people who create such music are invincible. But where can you get so many musicians? The conductor sadly recalled the violinists, wind players, and drummers who died in the snows of a long and hungry winter. And then the radio announced the registration of the surviving musicians. The conductor, staggering from weakness, walked around hospitals in search of musicians. 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”.

Musicians came from the front. 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.
But they still gathered for the first rehearsal. Some had arms roughened by weapons, others shook from exhaustion, but all tried their best to hold the tools as if their lives depended on it. It was the shortest rehearsal in the world, lasting only fifteen minutes - they did not have the strength for more. But they played for those fifteen minutes! And the conductor, trying not to fall from the console, realized that they would perform this symphony. The wind players' lips trembled, the string players' bows were like cast iron, but the music sounded! Maybe weakly, maybe out of tune, maybe out of tune, but the orchestra played. Despite the fact that during the rehearsals - two months - the musicians' food rations were increased, several artists did not live to see the concert.

And the day of the concert was set - August 9, 1942. But the enemy still stood under the walls of the city and was gathering forces for the final assault. Enemy guns took aim, hundreds of enemy planes were waiting for the order to take off. And the German officers took another look at the invitation cards to the banquet that was to take place after the fall of the besieged city, on August 9.

Why didn't they shoot?

The magnificent white-columned hall was full and greeted the conductor's appearance with an ovation. The conductor raised his baton and there was instant silence. How long will it last? Or will the enemy now unleash a barrage of fire to stop us? But the baton began to move - and previously unheard music burst into the hall. When the music ended and silence fell again, the conductor thought: “Why didn’t they shoot today?” Sounded off last chord, and there was silence in the hall for several seconds. And suddenly all the people stood up in one impulse - tears of joy and pride rolled down their cheeks, and their palms became hot from the thunder of applause. A girl ran out from the stalls onto the stage and presented the conductor with a bouquet of wild flowers. Decades later, Lyubov Shnitnikova, found by Leningrad school student explorers, will tell you that she specially grew flowers for this concert.

Why didn't the Nazis shoot? No, they shot, or rather, they tried to shoot. They aimed at the white-columned hall, they wanted to shoot at the music. But the 14th artillery regiment of Leningraders brought down an avalanche of fire on the fascist batteries an hour before the concert, providing seventy minutes of silence necessary for the performance of the symphony. Not a single enemy shell fell near the Philharmonic, nothing stopped the music from sounding over the city and over the world, and the world, hearing it, believed: this city will not surrender, this people are invincible!

Heroic Symphony of the 20th Century

Let's look at the actual music of Dmitry Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony. So,
The first movement is written in sonata form. A deviation from the classical sonata is that instead of development there is a large episode in the form of variations (“invasion episode”), and after it an additional fragment of a developmental nature is introduced.
The beginning of the piece embodies images peaceful life. The main part sounds broad and courageous and has the features of a march song. Following it, a lyrical side part appears. Against the background of a soft second-long “swaying” of violas and cellos, a light, song-like melody of the violins sounds, which alternates with transparent choral chords. A wonderful end to the exhibition. The sound of the orchestra seems to dissolve in space, the melody of the piccolo flute and muted violin rises higher and higher and freezes, fading against the background of a quietly sounding E major chord.
A new section begins - a stunning picture of an aggressive invasion destructive force. In the silence, as if from afar, the barely audible beat of a drum can be heard. An automatic rhythm is established that does not stop throughout this terrible episode. The “invasion theme” itself is mechanical, symmetrical, divided into even segments of 2 bars. The theme sounds dry, caustic, with clicks. The first violins play staccato, the second strike reverse side bow across the strings, violas play pizzicato.
The episode is structured in the form of variations on a melodically constant theme. The topic goes through 12 times, acquiring more and more new voices, revealing all its sinister sides.
In the first variation, the flute sounds soulless, dead in a low register.
In the second variation, a piccolo flute joins it at a distance of one and a half octaves.
In the third variation, a dull-sounding dialogue arises: each phrase of the oboe is copied by the bassoon an octave lower.
From the fourth to the seventh variation, the aggressiveness in the music increases. Brass instruments appear. In the sixth variation the theme is presented in parallel triads, brazenly and self-satisfied. The music takes on an increasingly cruel, “bestial” appearance.
In the eighth variation it reaches a terrifying fortissimo sonority. Eight horns cut through the roar and clang of the orchestra with a “primordial roar.”
In the ninth variation the theme moves to trumpets and trombones, accompanied by a groaning motif.
In the tenth and eleventh variations, the tension in the music reaches almost unimaginable strength. But here a musical revolution of fantastic genius takes place, which has no analogues in world symphonic practice. The tonality changes sharply. Enters additional group brass instruments. A few notes of the score stop the theme of invasion, and the opposing theme of resistance sounds. An episode of the battle begins, incredible in tension and intensity. Screams and groans are heard in piercing heartbreaking dissonances. With superhuman effort, Shostakovich leads the development to the main climax of the first movement - the requiem - weeping for the dead.

Konstantin Vasiliev. Invasion

The reprise begins. The main part is widely presented by the entire orchestra in the marching rhythm of a funeral procession. It is difficult to recognize the side party in the reprise. An intermittently tired monologue of the bassoon, accompanied by accompaniment chords that stumble at every step. The size changes all the time. This, according to Shostakovich, is “personal grief” for which “there are no more tears left.”
In the coda of the first part, pictures of the past appear three times, after the calling signal of the horns. It’s as if the main and secondary themes pass through in a haze in their original form. And at the very end, the theme of invasion ominously reminds itself of itself.
The second movement is an unusual scherzo. Lyrical, slow. Everything about it evokes memories of pre-war life. The music sounds as if in an undertone, in it one can hear echoes of some kind of dance, or a touchingly tender song. Suddenly an allusion to " Moonlight Sonata"Beethoven, sounding somewhat grotesque. What is this? Is it the memories of a German soldier sitting in the trenches around besieged Leningrad?
The third part appears as an image of Leningrad. Her music sounds like a life-affirming hymn to a beautiful city. Majestic, solemn chords alternate with expressive “recitatives” of solo violins. The third part flows into the fourth without interruption.
The fourth part - the mighty finale - is full of effectiveness and activity. Shostakovich considered it, along with the first movement, to be the main one in the symphony. He said that this part corresponds to his “perception of the course of history, which must inevitably lead to the triumph of freedom and humanity.”
The coda of the finale uses 6 trombones, 6 trumpets, 8 horns: against the backdrop of the powerful sound of the entire orchestra, they solemnly proclaim the main theme of the first movement. The execution itself resembles the ringing of a bell.

Symphony No. 7 “Leningrad”

Shostakovich's 15 symphonies constitute one of the 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 the Soviet Union and soon found Leningrad under siege, which 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 final 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 the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra 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 the calm of 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 motive appears, which is usually called the motive 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, full of great power of 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 code main party 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 it gets prepared 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 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 happens from above, but as a person who subtly reacts 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 was happening with his native country and its people, and even more broadly - with all of 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.

The organizer and conductor was Karl Ilyich Eliasberg, the chief conductor of the 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 the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra conducted by 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.

The path to the goal

The virtuoso was born on September 25, 1906 in a family where music was respected and loved. The parents' passion was passed on to their son. At the age of 9, after watching N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Tale of Tsar Saltan,” the boy declared that he intended to study music seriously. The first teacher was my mother, who taught piano. Later she gave the boy to music school, whose director was the famous teacher I. A. Glyasser.

Later, misunderstandings arose between student and teacher regarding the choice of direction. The mentor saw the guy as a pianist, the young man dreamed of becoming a composer. Therefore, in 1918, Dmitry left the school. Perhaps, if the talent had remained to study there, the world today would not know such a work as Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony. The history of the creation of the composition is a significant part of the musician’s biography.

Melodist of the future

The following summer, Dmitry went to audition for the Petrograd Conservatory. There he was noticed by the famous professor and composer A.K. Glazunov. History mentions that this man turned to Maxim Gorky with a request to help with a scholarship for young talent. When asked whether he was good at music, the professor honestly answered that Shostakovich’s style was alien and incomprehensible to him, but this was a topic for the future. So, in the fall the guy entered the conservatory.

But it was only in 1941 that Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony was written. The history of the creation of this work - ups and downs.

Universal love and hate

While still studying, Dmitry created significant melodies, but only after graduating from the conservatory did he write his First Symphony. The work became a diploma work. Newspapers called him a revolutionary in the world of music. Along with the glory young man There was a lot of negative criticism. Nevertheless, Shostakovich did not stop working.

Despite his amazing talent, he was unlucky. Every job failed miserably. Many ill-wishers sharply condemned the composer even before Shostakovich's 7th symphony was released. The history of the creation of the composition is interesting - the virtuoso composed it already at the peak of its popularity. But before that, in 1936, the newspaper Pravda harshly condemned ballets and operas of the new format. Ironically, she also fell under the hot hand unusual music from the production, the author of which was Dmitry Dmitrievich.

The terrible muse of the Seventh Symphony

The composer was persecuted and his works were banned. The fourth symphony was a pain. For some time he slept dressed and with a suitcase next to the bed - the musician was afraid of arrest at any moment.

However, he didn’t pause. In 1937 he released the Fifth Symphony, which surpassed his previous compositions and rehabilitated him.

But another work opened up the world of experiences and feelings in music. The story of the creation of Shostakovich's 7th symphony was tragic and dramatic.

In 1937, he taught composition classes at the Leningrad Conservatory, and later received the title of professor.

In this city the Second finds him World War. Dmitry Dmitrievich met her in the blockade (the city was surrounded on September 8), then he, like other artists of that time, was taken from the cultural capital of Russia. The composer and his family were evacuated first to Moscow, and then, on October 1, to Kuibyshev (since 1991 - Samara).

Start of work

It is worth noting that the author began working on this music even before the Great Patriotic War. In 1939-1940, the history of the creation of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 began. The first people to hear her excerpts were her students and colleagues. Originally it was simple theme, which developed with the sound of a snare drum. Already in the summer of 1941, this part became a separate emotional episode of the work. The symphony officially started on July 19. Afterwards the author admitted that he had never written so actively. It is interesting that the composer addressed Leningraders on the radio, where he announced his creative plans.

In September I worked on the second and third parts. On December 27, the master wrote the final part. On March 5, 1942, Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony was performed for the first time in Kuibyshev. The story of the creation of the work during the siege is no less exciting than the premiere itself. The evacuated orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater played it. Conducted by Samuel Samosuda.

Main concert

The master's dream was to perform in Leningrad. They spent a lot of effort to make the music sound. The task of organizing the concert fell to the only orchestra that remained in besieged Leningrad. The battered city brought musicians together drop by drop. Everyone who could stand on their feet was accepted. Many front-line soldiers took part in the performance. Only musical notes were delivered to the city. Then they signed the games and put up posters. On August 9, 1942, Shostakovich's 7th Symphony was performed. The history of the creation of the work is also unique in that it was on this day that the fascist troops planned to break through the defenses.

The conductor was Carl Eliasberg. The order was given: “While the concert is going on, the enemy must remain silent.” Soviet artillery ensured calm and actually covered all the artists. They broadcast music on the radio.

It was a real holiday for the exhausted residents. People cried and gave standing ovation. In August the symphony was played 6 times.

World recognition

Four months after the premiere, the work was performed in Novosibirsk. In the summer, residents of Great Britain and the USA heard it. The author became popular. People from all over the world were captivated by the siege story of the creation of Shostakovich's 7th symphony. In the first few months, it was played more than 60 times. Its first broadcast was listened to by more than 20 million people on this continent.

There were also envious people who argued that the work would not have received such popularity if not for the drama of Leningrad. But, despite this, even the bravest critic did not dare to declare that the author’s work was mediocrity.

There were changes in the area too Soviet Union. Ace has been called the Beethoven of the twentieth century. The man received a negative opinion about the genius from the composer S. Rachmaninov, who said: “They forgot all the artists, only Shostakovich remained.” Symphony 7 “Leningradskaya”, the history of whose creation is worthy of respect, has won the hearts of millions.

Music of the Heart

Tragic events are heard in music. The author wanted to show all the pain that comes not only from war, but also He loved his people, but despised the power that governs them. His goal was to convey the feelings of millions Soviet people. The master suffered along with the city and its inhabitants and defended the walls with notes. Anger, love, suffering are embodied in such a work as Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony. The history of its creation covers the period of the first months of the war and the start of the blockade.

The theme itself is a grandiose struggle between good and evil, peace and slavery. If you close your eyes and turn on the tune, you can hear the sky buzzing with enemy planes, like motherland groans from the dirty boots of the invaders, as a mother cries as she sees off her son to his death.

The “Famous Leningradka” became a symbol of freedom - as poetess Anna Akhmatova called her. On one side of the wall there were enemies, injustice, on the other - art, Shostakovich, the 7th symphony. The history of its creation briefly reflects the first stage of the war and the role of art in the struggle for freedom!