A tour of Russian symphonies
Russian composers Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and Shostakovich wrote some of their most famous symphonies far from home.
Written by Fred-Olav Vatne
![Venice, photo taken in the 1860s or 1870s.](https://ofo.imgix.net/Venezia-1860-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=422&q=90&w=750&s=c216848fa2417249ad207f925429798e 750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Venezia-1860-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=563&q=90&w=1000&s=de5f69bbd917e38fb87fd64aba601e7d 1000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Venezia-1860-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=703&q=90&w=1250&s=b7419aa44f90e7bc13d506e21559135a 1250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Venezia-1860-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=844&q=90&w=1500&s=31bb2a29ad29920c8efaf71a63816abc 1500w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Venezia-1860-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=984&q=90&w=1750&s=243a4c7054d1672e90b72d377b642fe3 1750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Venezia-1860-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1125&q=90&w=2000&s=229110fa37265b9d22f23d7f817012a6 2000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Venezia-1860-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1148&q=90&w=2040&s=28b5f09a2d2dc5795260fa18654c58cf 2040w)
Some of the most popular symphonies in the concert hall were written by Russian composers.
![](https://ofo.imgix.net/Hospenthal-FurkaPass-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=422&q=90&w=750&s=6298baf678755b7dcc4dc3d4dcc13cfe 750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Hospenthal-FurkaPass-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=563&q=90&w=1000&s=cee2561bb7adfd14656256595c5f75e9 1000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Hospenthal-FurkaPass-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=703&q=90&w=1250&s=07a8cba09c5367609c112988bd00fa98 1250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Hospenthal-FurkaPass-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=844&q=90&w=1500&s=ccd36e37a951e7b8f7a20734a6b82d0a 1500w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Hospenthal-FurkaPass-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=984&q=90&w=1750&s=bfc939ab13a0db90d761f682da822361 1750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Hospenthal-FurkaPass-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1125&q=90&w=2000&s=0453928c9f208a73a6bbe28926a3a544 2000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Hospenthal-FurkaPass-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1148&q=90&w=2040&s=97e43757e27f2a1fa1c2f82334a7d14e 2040w)
However, many of the symphonies were written in countries far from Russia.
![Samara, photo taken before 1944.](https://ofo.imgix.net/Samara-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=422&q=90&w=750&s=660ba88cb16e65da8b1d6e35c6ab4b72 750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Samara-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=563&q=90&w=1000&s=b7b7a8f6b7779b96b9bf0fdbe7b35b37 1000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Samara-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=703&q=90&w=1250&s=cebc875663b74bb02d9cb5e15f7ca170 1250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Samara-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=844&q=90&w=1500&s=4865b9c5845e7eb5e0f3abe1af8d3dcf 1500w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Samara-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=984&q=90&w=1750&s=3ed91267b83c469f1940914a075300b0 1750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Samara-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1125&q=90&w=2000&s=a6c9f421b6add3fd0bab9b00813ec527 2000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Samara-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1148&q=90&w=2040&s=08a13207a9282b4c1ffa9b66bf10630e 2040w)
Join us on a symphonic tour with famous music in your suitcase!
“... every time, as the realization of being abroad is pleasant for the first moment, for me it loses its charm and starts to bring on melancholy …”
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
![Portrait of Pyotr Tchaikovsky.](https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Tchaikovsky2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1125&q=90&w=750&s=96a96b6fcd7d8e368aca0756f9a233a9 750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Tchaikovsky2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1500&q=90&w=1000&s=a6d42dd13a23684e006cc9e2de0d0436 1000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Tchaikovsky2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1875&q=90&w=1250&s=7f7fb8d4a870b61cac15163debb4234e 1250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Tchaikovsky2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2250&q=90&w=1500&s=57f5fbb2f96038302cfe8a7a70f46d60 1500w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Tchaikovsky2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2625&q=90&w=1750&s=5451f71a406ee90bf57cbfa087fa0fda 1750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Tchaikovsky2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=3000&q=90&w=2000&s=611ebea869f25dd9ea52a3f67c92ff4b 2000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Tchaikovsky2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=3375&q=90&w=2250&s=50b5d262b555dd8fee3dce2cc7b393ea 2250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Tchaikovsky2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=3600&q=90&w=2400&s=317ec82a8b0036cf311ea760e27ba026 2400w)
Pyotr Tchaikovsky.
Unknown photographer.
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Pyotr Tchaikovsky went on his first trip abroad at the age of 21, as a secretary and interpreter for a friend of the family. The journey went through Berlin, Hamburg, Antwerp, Brussels, London and Paris. The trip must have given him a taste for more, because it would be the first of many trips for the composer.
Tchaikovsky moved to Moscow in 1865 to teach at the city’s Conservatory of Music. He gradually gained increased recognition as a composer, including his first three symphonies, but he did not enjoy teaching.
In 1876, Tchaikovsky came into contact with the wealthy businesswoman Nadezhda von Meck, an influential benefactor who was very enthusiastic about his music. From 1877, she provided Tchaikovsky with a regular allowance, which enabled him to quit his job and dedicate himself to composing music full time.
In the summer of 1877, Tchaikovsky married, rather spontaneously, a former student. The marriage was a disaster for the composer and attempts to make it work culminated in a mental breakdown in the early autumn. He went on a long journey to calm his nerves, and after stays in Switzerland and Paris, Tchaikovsky travelled to Italy in the late autumn.
On 23 November, he received a long-awaited package in Rome: the sketches of his new symphony, which he had begun in the spring. He worked like mad on his symphony throughout December. On 23 December, he finished writing the first movement in Venice. On Christmas Eve, he began working on the second movement, hoping to finish writing the symphony by the new year.
When a previous agreement on another assignment threatened to interrupt his work, he wrote to a friend: “I cannot see people, I need to isolate myself from all the noise and commotion [...] Peace, peace, peace and work — these are the only two things that I need now.” On 7 January 1878, he completed the symphony in San Remo.
Working on the symphony was a welcome escape from the composer’s turbulent family and emotional life. Clearly, travelling and taking in the surroundings did not give Tchaikovsky the peace he was after. He wrote in one of his letters: “... every time, as the realization of being abroad is pleasant for the first moment, for me it loses its charm and starts to bring on melancholy …”
In the following years, Tchaikovsky led a fairly rootless life, spending most of the year travelling through Europe and spending the summers in Russia. In 1885, he began travelling less and settled in the rural countryside outside Moscow. By then, he had become internationally famous and, before his death in 1893, he had the opportunity to experience the audience’s enthusiasm when he performed as a conductor on concert tours in both Europe and the United States.
(The quotes are taken from the website tchaikovsky-research.comand from Roland John Wiley’s biography of Tchaikovsky.)
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
- Born in the Russian industrial town of Votkinsk in 1840. Moved alone to Saint Petersburg at the age of 10 to attend school. Died in the same city in 1893.
- The first Russian composer to become famous and recognised internationally.
- Wrote seven symphonies: No. 1–6 and the Manfred Symphony.
- Also composed a number of successful operas, and his ballet music for The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty are almost common property in large parts of the world.
![Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1906.](https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Rachmaninoff_1906.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1056&q=90&w=750&s=a6e0934549118fc3ab89496f373cc7b4 750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Rachmaninoff_1906.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1408&q=90&w=1000&s=ee9a0e4b9c2f1a9c42811bb4002837be 1000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Rachmaninoff_1906.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1760&q=90&w=1250&s=8074361af618559afbb561953847f1fe 1250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Rachmaninoff_1906.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2112&q=90&w=1500&s=e1ccc14d8843c99049c7968551f6597f 1500w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Rachmaninoff_1906.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2464&q=90&w=1750&s=3894da7d96547dc65b84a25f12edf09a 1750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Rachmaninoff_1906.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2816&q=90&w=2000&s=17fbd3fa390f8a1f080abc4d4bd528ae 2000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Rachmaninoff_1906.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=3168&q=90&w=2250&s=f00b0b2dd2d3617f248a9e1dd1747130 2250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Rachmaninoff_1906.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=3379&q=90&w=2400&s=4fce4e29d294850e27762adf7183e906 2400w)
Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1906.
Unknown photographer.
“We live here like hermits: we see nobody, we know nobody, and we go nowhere.
Sergei Rachmaninoff
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A refreshing escape in Dresden
Sergei Rachmaninoff’s family belonged to the Russian aristocracy, and he was born on one of the family’s estates. But the family began to struggle financially, and when he was ten years old, the family moved into a small flat in Saint Petersburg. He was then sent to Moscow to attend school, where he laid the foundations for a unique career as a pianist, conductor and composer. He wrote most of his music at Ivanovka, his aunt and uncle’s country estate, about 500 kilometres south-east of Moscow.
Rachmaninoff’s abilities as a pianist were indisputable – he is still considered one of the best of all time. Gaining recognition as a composer proved more difficult. In 1897, his Symphony No. 1 was played for the first time in Saint Petersburg, and it was slaughtered by critics. Rachmaninoff fell into a depression and was unable to compose music for the next few years. It was not until 1901, after long periods of therapy, that he produced another composition: Piano Concerto No. 2, which was a huge success and became his international breakthrough.
Five years later, Rachmaninoff’s work as a composer stalled once again – this time nearly mired in his own success. He had an urgent need to escape the hectic concert life in his home country and find the peace he needed to compose his music. The solution was to move to Dresden with his family for three years. Rachmaninoff had previously had fantastic concert experiences in Dresden, and in the neighbouring city of Leipzig, the music scene was at an equally high level.
Another appealing aspect of Dresden was that the family barely knew a soul there. In a letter to a friend, Rachmaninoff writes:
“We live here like hermits: we see nobody, we know nobody, and we go nowhere. I work a great deal.”
This solitude bore fruit – although it also opened the door to dark thoughts and doubts about his abilities as a composer. Rachmaninoff completed Symphony No. 2 in 1907 and conducted the piece himself at the premiere in Saint Petersburg in January 1908. The symphony was a new triumph for the composer and is to this day by far the most popular of his symphonies.
For the rest of his life, Sergei Rachmaninoff spent far more time travelling than he would have liked. After the Russian Revolution, he was driven into exile and lived in the United States most of the year. He was extremely sought after as a concert pianist and travelled extensively until the end of his life. His last major orchestral work, Symphonic Dances from 1940, was largely written while on tour.
(The quote is taken from Max Harrison’s biography of Rachmaninoff.)
Sergei Rachmaninoff
- Born on the family estate outside Novgorod in 1873, died in Beverly Hills, California in 1943.
- Left Russia for good in 1918 and was based in the United States for the rest of his life.
- Wrote three symphonies, No. 2 is the most famous.
- He is considered one of the greatest pianists of all time, and his four piano concertos are very popular, especially No. 2 and 3.
![Altmarkt in Dresden, 1906.](https://ofo.imgix.net/Dresden-1906-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=534&q=90&w=750&s=cb53e0149d34804ad3bce533db263d59 750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Dresden-1906-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=712&q=90&w=1000&s=5c10001773616bd53a1b3e9e7cb89522 1000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Dresden-1906-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=891&q=90&w=1250&s=4c900d418fdca04228abbc9fbb5d197b 1250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Dresden-1906-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1069&q=90&w=1500&s=506ab8a2dbc96ab37f8ee027c13951ea 1500w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Dresden-1906-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1247&q=90&w=1750&s=caa109cb8d452e9ee3e27825b1cee32d 1750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Dresden-1906-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1425&q=90&w=2000&s=730dbe1c41b2d27657749fc31f02abe8 2000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Dresden-1906-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1603&q=90&w=2250&s=d52686bb3a0d4121ef939c67a977844e 2250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Dresden-1906-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1710&q=90&w=2400&s=28816fd1bcaf572322a44a54be89f193 2400w)
Altmarkt in Dresden, 1906.
Fiery tones amid cool alps
Sergei Prokofiev spent the first years of his childhood in a rural setting in the Ukrainian village of Sontsovka. At the age of eight, he took the train to Moscow for the first time with his parents and was overwhelmed with excitement. He loved systems of all kinds, and railway tables, routes and equipment became a lifelong passion for him. Two years later, he moved to Saint Petersburg with his mother to attend school. As Prokofiev grew older, he began taking long walks in and around Saint Petersburg, often in the company of friends.
In 1918, Prokofiev moved to the United States and then to Paris, earning a living as a pianist and conductor while he continued composing. The first years were financially lean, but his situation improved towards the late 1920s. In 1927, he decided to buy a car, and after endless comparisons, he chose a used Ballot. Driving became a new passion for the composer – he planned detailed routes and took long car trips nearly every day.
In the summer of 1928, he, his wife Lina and some of their friends rented a holiday home near the French border with Switzerland and made it their base for spectacular car trips to Chamonix, Lausanne, Montreux, Lugano and a number of other cities. His wife described their trips as follows:
“Sometimes the road went through high mountain passes, for example the Furka Pass, where we met St. Bernards with little barrels attached to their collars. Sometimes we would descend into valleys as wonderful as in a fairy tale, then rise up again to the glaciers of the Rhône. We would spend the night in the most diverse spots – once on a high summit in a little hut that opened onto a magnificent view”
Sergei Prokofiev enjoyed himself with the others – but he did not take time off from composing. During the summer holidays he finished writing his Symphony No. 3, which premiered in Paris the following spring. The symphony was based on music from the opera The Fiery Angel, which Prokofiev never saw performed.
(The quote is taken from Harlow Robinson’s biography of Prokofiev.)
Sergei Prokofiev
- Born in Sontsovka in the Ukrainian countryside in 1891, died in Moscow on the same day as Josef Stalin in 1953.
- Left his native Russia in the wake of the revolution and lived in the United States, Germany and France before moving back to the Soviet Union in 1936.
- Wrote seven symphonies, No. 1 and No. 5 are the most famous.
- Other popular works are his music for the ballet Romeo and Juliet and the musical children’s story Peter and the Wolf.
![Portrait of Sergei Prokofiev.](https://ofo.imgix.net/Sergei_Prokofiev_circa_1918.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=925&q=90&w=750&s=ae0256d3d98feb27ff70894749c147b2 750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Sergei_Prokofiev_circa_1918.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1233&q=90&w=1000&s=c73269c1715fe645b680dfdfcb8c69d6 1000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Sergei_Prokofiev_circa_1918.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1541&q=90&w=1250&s=4f7235e44887fe57f320cc62942306e2 1250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Sergei_Prokofiev_circa_1918.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1849&q=90&w=1500&s=9c6411f58b327cbe97d7174b2c02c027 1500w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Sergei_Prokofiev_circa_1918.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2157&q=90&w=1750&s=a4fe6bcc389c45dec3bd3c096625d387 1750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Sergei_Prokofiev_circa_1918.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2466&q=90&w=2000&s=284b0f34ffa45191f5e5150b270b4958 2000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Sergei_Prokofiev_circa_1918.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2774&q=90&w=2250&s=571a38d46af0e918b26fe8141b80e4e4 2250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Sergei_Prokofiev_circa_1918.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2959&q=90&w=2400&s=25827c7e81df763a54b1e7cf12441542 2400w)
Sergei Prokofiev.
Unknown photographer.
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![Dmitri Shostakovich](https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Dmitri_Shostakovich_credit_Deutsche_Fotothek_adjusted.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1046&q=90&w=750&s=6f71e4ee70033e017f6da7ba423d3073 750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Dmitri_Shostakovich_credit_Deutsche_Fotothek_adjusted.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1395&q=90&w=1000&s=4a188a8a276fee8719412aa0a13d6d1c 1000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Dmitri_Shostakovich_credit_Deutsche_Fotothek_adjusted.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1744&q=90&w=1250&s=e06811c028ee0feba4b168630d96b09d 1250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Dmitri_Shostakovich_credit_Deutsche_Fotothek_adjusted.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2093&q=90&w=1500&s=8ce565d87e5434a7b8e7e1b71a6d0680 1500w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Dmitri_Shostakovich_credit_Deutsche_Fotothek_adjusted.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2442&q=90&w=1750&s=9e0cf72b15dbf86c01046a7714fb9d7a 1750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Dmitri_Shostakovich_credit_Deutsche_Fotothek_adjusted.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2791&q=90&w=2000&s=7db3ea6a236a38426a2ff9b866510475 2000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Dmitri_Shostakovich_credit_Deutsche_Fotothek_adjusted.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=3139&q=90&w=2250&s=d7d1eaa1b1939a449a2e0aea07019513 2250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/640px-Dmitri_Shostakovich_credit_Deutsche_Fotothek_adjusted.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=3349&q=90&w=2400&s=f83bd6b290e9122a012a8afe15b11ed6 2400w)
Dmitri Shostakovich
Photo Deutsche Fotothek
“... when I got into that dark carriage with the children in Moscow I felt that I was in paradise! But by the seventh day of the journey I felt that I was in hell."
Dmitri Shostakovich
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Standing on the platform with a sewing machine and a potty
Dmitri Shostakovich also wrote one of his most famous symphonies on the road, but it was a far darker and more traumatic trip than the others mentioned here. In the summer of 1941, the Germans besieged Shostakovich’s hometown of Leningrad, a siege that was to last for almost 900 days.
Shostakovich was so near-sighted that he was unsuitable for military service, but he did help to dig trenches and worked as a volunteer firefighter. By this time, he was a world-famous composer, and the photographs of him in a fireman’s helmet made headlines around the world. The Soviet authorities were naturally aware of his international status and decided to evacuate him and his family.
On 1 October 1941, Shostakovich, his wife and their two small children boarded a small military plane, which took them to safety in Moscow. When his three-year-old son, Maxim, asked the soldiers about the flashes of light in the sky around, they told him it was German planes trying to shoot them down. Among the few essential belongings they had in their luggage were the sketches of Symphony No. 7.
Shostakovich had barely landed in Moscow before he visited his composer friends in the city, led by Aram Khachaturian, to play from the new symphony. A couple of weeks later, both composers travelled further east. Khachaturian’s niece, Karen, observed Shostakovich just before he left the train station:
“I suddenly caught sight of Dmitri Dmitriyevich on the platform. He looked completely bereft. He was holding a sewing machine in one hand and a children’s potty in the other, while his wife Nina Vasilyevna stood beside the children and a mountain of stuff.”
The big topic of discussion among the travellers was where to get off the train. Everyone had their opinion on where Shostakovich should live. After seven days on the train, they got off in Kuybyshev, the city now called Samara. At first, they had to live in a school, with eighteen people in each classroom. After a week, the family was able to move into a separate bedroom, and the composer was given a piano to use. He reflected on his experiences with a friend:
“... when I got into that dark carriage with the children in Moscow I felt that I was in paradise! But by the seventh day of the journey I felt that I was in hell. When we were settled in the classroom of the school, and what’s more given a carpet and surrounded by suitcases, I again felt myself to be in paradise; but after three days I was fed up ...”
The family eventually moved into a three-bedroom flat with a private bathroom, which soon became a gathering place for the city’s intelligentsia. Shostakovich completed Symphony no. 7 in Kuybyshev on 27 December, and it was premiered in the city in March 1942. In the summer, it was performed in New York, and on 13 August, it was performed in war-torn Leningrad – a huge achievement in itself. The symphony became a symbol of patriotism and fighting spirit and took Shostakovich to the height of his fame.
(The quote is taken from Elizabeth Wilson’s biography of Shostakovich.)
Translated from Norwegian by Samtext.
Dmitri Shostakovich
- Born in Saint Petersburg in 1906 and lived most of his life in the city, which later changed its name to Petrograd and then to Leningrad. Died in Moscow in 1975.
- Under Stalin’s rule in the Soviet Union, his music was at times condemned. His relationship with the authorities varied widely throughout his career, but he was permanently rehabilitated after Stalin’s death in 1953.
- Wrote 15 symphonies. Among the most famous is Symphony No. 7, written during the siege of Leningrad during World War II.
- Also composed three operas, six solo concertos, 15 string quartets and 24 preludes and fugues.
![Samara, photo taken before 1944.](https://ofo.imgix.net/Samara-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=463&q=90&w=750&s=11fca02ef2fbe21676ed8bf660c18640 750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Samara-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=617&q=90&w=1000&s=d8b3a40959b5eb04fe8ac03f39abda86 1000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Samara-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=771&q=90&w=1250&s=133561508b14f7e9854fd33dcba46ffd 1250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Samara-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=926&q=90&w=1500&s=7d1ac837f94c5d093c40269a66da2ed2 1500w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Samara-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1080&q=90&w=1750&s=8dd7acc59de12e29f5a118397eefdbbd 1750w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Samara-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1234&q=90&w=2000&s=c732006259c0594d20935e80b030e8fb 2000w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Samara-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1389&q=90&w=2250&s=60c279e4e93c2c2f14f11708ebc91b60 2250w, https://ofo.imgix.net/Samara-a.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&cs=srgb&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1481&q=90&w=2400&s=fa85e9a94ae4315128ad496d5d3ab763 2400w)