Shostakovich*s probably most famous work. The 7th symphony. The Leningrad requiem. His beloved city, his beloved home town was suffering the most horrible blockade. People were dying of hunger, millions. Shostakovich himself was forced to be evacuated. During that period he wrote that magnificent piece. Perhaps the most famous (and most horrifying part) is the mid par to the first movement. Percussions, unstoppable, powerful, again and again the same theme. Each time nearer, each time louder, more and more frightening. But what is it? The German army? Isn*t it too easy? Isn*t it much more? Goose bumps each time I hear what happens after the idyll in the beginning and how this idyll comes back in the end, dead, sad, hopeless?
Do listen to the whole symphony!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-ZEoNTtRB8