Leningrad première of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7
Shostakovich had intended the piece to be premièred by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, but because of the siege that group was evacuated from the city, as was the composer himself.
The Leningrad première was considered by music critics to be one of the most important artistic performances of the war because of its psychological and political effects.
[2] Shostakovich wanted the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra to première the symphony, but that group had been evacuated to Novosibirsk as part of the government-led cultural exodus.
[3] The world première was instead held in Kuybyshev on 5 March 1942, performed by the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra under conductor Samuil Samosud.
[3] The Moscow première was given by a combination of the Bolshoi and the All-Union Radio orchestras on 29 March in the Columned Hall of the House of Unions.
[3] The North American première was broadcast from New York City on 19 July 1942 by the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini.
[10] On 2 April 1942, Boris Zagorsky and Yasha Babushkin of the Leningrad city arts department announced preparations for the symphony's performance.
[11] The hiatus in musical broadcasts was quickly ended by Andrei Zhdanov, a Soviet politician involved in the defence of Leningrad, to allow for rehearsals and provide a morale boost for the city.
We were moved to tears when they brought out their concert clothes, their violins and cellos and flutes, and rehearsals began under the icy canopy of the studio.
[21][22] The first rehearsal in March 1942 was intended to be three hours long, but had to be stopped after 15 minutes because the musicians present were too weak to play their instruments.
[17] Eliasberg himself had to be dragged to rehearsals on a sledge, and was eventually moved by Communist officials to an apartment nearby and given a bicycle for transport.
[25] Orchestral players were given additional rations (donated by civilian music enthusiasts) in an effort to combat starvation, and hot bricks were used to radiate heat; nevertheless, three performers died during rehearsals.
[11][23] In addition to the Seventh Symphony, the makeshift orchestra also rehearsed traditional symphonic works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov.
[19][29][30] Some players protested the decision to perform Shostakovich's symphony, not wanting to expend their little strength on an "intricate and not very accessible" work.
[32][27][33] Instruments were in poor condition and few repairmen were available; one oboist was asked for a cat in exchange for a repair, as the starving repairman had already eaten several.
This was the day German Chancellor Adolf Hitler had previously designated to celebrate the fall of the city with a lavish banquet at Leningrad's Astoria Hotel.
[36] The performance was preceded by a pre-recorded radio address by Eliasberg, aired at 6 pm:[37][38] Comrades – a great occurrence in the cultural history of our city is about to take place.
Listen, Comrades!Lieutenant-General Govorov ordered a bombardment of German artillery positions in advance of the concert in a special operation, code-named "Squall".
[39] The purpose of the operation was to prevent them from targeting the concert hall and to ensure that it would be quiet enough to hear the music over speakers he ordered to be set up.
[40] Musicologist Andrei Krukov later praised Govorov's actions as providing the "incentive" for the concert, adding that his choice to allow soldiers to participate was "a quite exceptional decision".
Eliasberg concurred with Dhuga's assessment, saying that "the whole city had found its humanity ... in that moment, we triumphed over the soulless Nazi war machine".
[50] Other issues of contention about the symphony include whether it was inspired by the attack on Leningrad (as Soviet authorities and official accounts had asserted) or planned earlier and repurposed for propaganda, as well as its artistic merit compared to Shostakovich's other works.
[54] Twenty-two musicians and Eliasberg performed the symphony, and instruments were placed on the other chairs to represent those participants who had died since the première.
