Karl Eliasberg

When Eliasberg was asked to conduct the Leningrad première, only 15 members of the orchestra were still available; the others had either starved to death or left to fight the enemy.

During the days of the siege of Leningrad, Eliasberg saved many lives by getting musicians to rehearsals and to feeding stations.

In 1964, there was a reunion of Eliasberg and 22 of the original musicians before a performance in Shostakovich's presence on 27 January 1964; it was the first time they had been together in 22 years.

In 1978 Eliasberg died, almost forgotten, and his ashes were buried in a small plot at the back of the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery.

[9] The Leningrad Radio Orchestra's performance of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony conducted by Karl Eliasberg is the subject of the 2011 novel The Conductor by New Zealand author Sarah Quigley.