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 either: 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 cursory 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 it 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 fascist troops. The Nazis placed great emphasis on the capture of Leningrad big hopes. 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.
For a 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 conductor Karl Ilyich Eliasberg, a tall and thin man, 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 execution of the Seventh would have been impossible - after all, he had to knock out 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 shaking 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?” The last chord sounded, and silence hung 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 schoolchildren-pathfinders, will tell 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. Main party It sounds broad and masculine and has the characteristics of a march song. Following it, a lyrical side part appears. Against the backdrop 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 the invasion of an aggressive 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 violins strike the strings with the back of the bow, and the 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. Additional group enters 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 finale code uses 6 trombones, 6 trumpets, 8 horns: against the backdrop of the powerful sound of the entire orchestra, they solemnly proclaim main topic first part. The conduct itself resembles the ringing of a bell.
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 the central place in this music is occupied by the intonation of the 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 pied piper. 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.
Famous pilots, writers, and Stakhanovites came to the Column Hall of the House of 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 and applauded 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 was published Leningrad Front“Enemy at the Gates,” Shostakovich spoke on 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 chief conductor When Carl Eliasberg opened the first of four notebooks of the score from the Great Symphony Orchestra of the Leningrad Radio Committee, 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”. String group picked up, but a problem arose with the wind instrument: people simply physically could not blow into the 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 Prospect 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 as an entrance ticket to the first performance in Leningrad of the Seventh Symphony on August 9, 1942. Tickets sold out very quickly - everyone who could go was eager 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 sled. 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 - 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.
- 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. There were posters hanging in the city, at least in the center. And here is another unforgettable picture: there was no transport, people walked, women were in elegant dresses, but these dresses hung as if on cross-bracelets, too big for everyone, men were in suits, also as if from someone else’s shoulder... The military approached the Philharmonic cars with soldiers - to the concert... In general, there were quite a lot of people in the hall, and we felt an incredible excitement, 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 accompaniment of the 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. He looked at his watch again and remarked to the artillery generals standing nearby: “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, walked up to the conductor and handed him huge bouquet from dahlias, asters, 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 the Nazi invaders” and 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.
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."
D.D. Shostakovich "Leningrad Symphony"
Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony (Leningrad) is a great work that reflects not only the will to win, but also force majeure spirit of the Russian people. The music is a chronicle of the war years; a trace of history can be heard in every sound. The composition, grandiose in scale, gave hope and faith not only to people in besieged Leningrad, but also to the entire Soviet people.
Find out how the work was composed and under what circumstances it was first performed, as well as the content and variety interesting facts can be found on our page.
The history of the creation of the “Leningrad Symphony”
Dmitry Shostakovich was always a very sensitive person; it was as if he anticipated the beginning of a difficult historical event. So, back in 1935, the composer began to compose variations in the passacaglia genre. It is worth noting that this genre is a funeral procession, common in Spain. According to the plan, the essay was supposed to repeat the principle of variation used Maurice Ravel V " Bolero" The sketches were even shown to students at the conservatory where the brilliant musician taught. The theme of the passacaglia was quite simple, but its development was created thanks to the dry drumming. Gradually the dynamics increased to enormous power, which demonstrated a symbol of fear and horror. The composer was tired of working on the work and put it aside.
The war awakened Shostakovich the desire to complete the work and bring it to triumphant and victorious finale. The composer decided to use the previously started passacaglia in the symphony; it became a large episode, which was built on variations, and replaced the development. In the summer of 1941, the first part was completely ready. Then the composer began work on the middle movements, which were completed by the composer even before the evacuation from Leningrad.
The author recalled own work over the work: “I wrote it faster than previous works. I couldn't do anything differently and not write it. There was a terrible war going on all around. I just wanted to capture the image of our country, which is fighting so hard in its own music. On the first day of the war, I already got to work. Then I lived at the conservatory, like many of my musician friends. I was an air defense fighter. I didn’t sleep or eat, and only looked up from my writing when I was on duty or when there were air raid alarms.”
The fourth part was the most difficult, as it was supposed to be the triumph of good over evil. The composer felt anxious; the war had a very serious impact on his morale. His mother and sister were not evacuated from the city, and Shostakovich was very worried about them. Pain tormented his soul, he could not think about anything. There was no one nearby who could inspire him to the heroic finale of the work, but, nevertheless, the composer gathered his courage and completed the work in the most optimistic spirit. A few days before the onset of 1942, the work was completely composed.
Performance of Symphony No. 7
The work was first performed in Kuibyshev in the spring of 1942. The premiere was conducted by Samuil Samosud. It is noteworthy that correspondents from different countries. The audience's assessment was more than high; several countries immediately wanted to perform the symphony in the world's most famous philharmonic societies, and requests began to be sent to send the score. The right to be the first to perform the work outside the country was entrusted to the famous conductor Toscanini. In the summer of 1942, the work was performed in New York and was a huge success. The music spread all over the world.
But not a single performance on Western stages could compare with the scale of the premiere in besieged Leningrad. On August 9, 1942, the day when, according to Hitler’s plan, the city was supposed to fall from the blockade, Shostakovich’s music was played. All four movements were played by conductor Carl Eliasberg. The work was heard in every home and on the streets, as it was broadcast on the radio and through street speakers. The Germans were amazed - this was a real feat, showing the strength of the Soviet people.
Interesting facts about Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7
- The work received the name “Leningradskaya” from the famous poetess Anna Akhmatova.
- Since its composition, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 has become one of the most politicized works of all time. classical music. Thus, the date of the premiere of the symphonic work in Leningrad was not chosen by chance. According to the German plan, the complete massacre of the city built by Peter the Great was scheduled for August 9th. The commander-in-chief was given special invitation cards to the Astoria restaurant, which was popular at that time. They wanted to celebrate the victory over the besieged in the city. Tickets for the premiere of the symphony were distributed free of charge to survivors of the siege. The Germans knew about everything and became unwitting listeners of the work. On the day of the premiere, it became clear who would win the battle for the city.
- On the day of the premiere, the whole city was filled with Shostakovich’s music. The symphony was broadcast on the radio and also from city street loudspeakers. People listened and could not hide their own emotions. Many cried with a sense of pride for the country.
- The music of the first part of the symphony became the basis of a ballet called “Leningrad Symphony”.
- The famous writer Alexei Tolstoy wrote an article about the “Leningrad” Symphony, in which he not only described the work as a triumph of the thought of the human in man, but also analyzed the work from a musical point of view.
- Most of the musicians were taken out of the city at the beginning of the blockade, so difficulties arose in assembling a whole orchestra. But nevertheless, it was assembled, and the piece was learned in just a few weeks. The Leningrad premiere was conducted by a famous conductor German origin Eliasberg. Thus, it was emphasized that, regardless of nationality, every person strives for peace.
- The symphony can be heard in the famous computer game called "Entente".
- In 2015, the work was performed at the Philharmonic Society of the city of Donetsk. The premiere took place as part of a special project.
- Poet and friend Alexander Petrovich Mezhirov dedicated this work poetry.
- One of the Germans, after the USSR’s victory over Nazi Germany, admitted: “It was on the day of the premiere of the Leningrad Symphony that we realized that we would lose not only the battle, but the entire war. Then we felt the strength of the Russian people, which could overcome everything, including hunger and death.
- Shostakovich himself wanted the symphony in Leningrad to be performed by his favorite orchestra of the Leningrad Philharmonic, conducted by the brilliant Mravinsky. But this could not happen, since the orchestra was in Novosibirsk, transporting musicians would have become too difficult and could lead to tragedy, since the city was under siege, so the orchestra had to be formed from people who were in the city. Many were musicians in military bands, many were invited from neighboring cities, but in the end the orchestra was assembled and performed the work.
- During the performance of the symphony, the secret operation "Squall" was successfully carried out. Later, a participant in this operation will write a poem dedicated to Shostakovich and the operation itself.
- A review by a journalist from the English magazine Time, who was specially sent to the USSR for the premiere in Kuibyshev, has been preserved. The correspondent then wrote that the work was filled with extraordinary nervousness; he noted the brightness and expressiveness of the melodies. In his opinion, the symphony had to be performed in Great Britain and around the world.
- The music is associated with another military event that has happened in our days. On August 21, 2008, the work was performed in Tskhinvali. The symphony was conducted by one of the best conductors modernity Valery Gergiev. The performance was broadcast on leading Russian channels, and was also broadcast on radio stations.
- On the building of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic you can see a memorial plaque dedicated to the premiere of the symphony.
- After the signing of the surrender, a news reporter in Europe said: “Is it possible to defeat a country in which, during such terrible military operations, blockades and death, destruction and famine, people manage to write such a powerful work and perform it in a besieged city? I think not. This is a unique feat."