Composer Dmitri Shostakovich Born On This Day in 1906

Soviet Russian composer and piano virtuoso Dmitri Shostakovich was born on this day in 1906

Soviet Russian composer and piano virtuoso Dmitri Shostakovich was born on this day in 1906.

One of the prominent figures of 20th Century Music, his output includes 15 symphonies, 15 string quartets, 6 concerti, a piano quintet, two piano trios and 2 string octets.

During his lifetime, Shostakovich wrote music in implicit protest of Soviet rule as well as intensely nationalistic works and navigating a double life between an artist under Stalin and a private composer of tragic, defiant, and often death-obsessed music.

He died from lung cancer and is buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery, in Moscow.

He is remembered for his complex relationship with the Soviet Union during a time when Stalin and Soviet officials denounced art — including Shostakovich's — that they deemed unaligned with their national vision.

VC ARTIST AUGUSTIN HADELICH | SHOSTAKOVICH VIOLIN CONCERTO NO.1 IN A MINOR | ANDRÉS OROZCO-ESTRADA & THE HOUSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA | 2023