Klaus Mäkelä Dmitri Shostakovich

In the summer of 1941, the Germans laid siege to Shostakovich's hometown of Leningrad. On 1 October, he was evacuated in a small military plane with his wife and two young children. Among the few essential possessions they carried in their luggage were the sketches for Symphony No. 7. Shostakovich completed the symphony in Kuibychev, where it was also premiered in March 1942. In the summer, it was played both in New York and in war-torn Leningrad. The symphony's first movement describes how the war makes its way into people's ordinary and peaceful lives, becoming a symbol of patriotism and fighting spirit.