After decades of working under the Soviet thumb, Dmitri Shostakovich finally vented his own frustration and rage in his 13th Symphony, a musical setting of the already suppressed poetry of Yevgeny Yevtushenko.
Starting with a blistering account of the enormous massacres at Babi Yar in present-day Ukraine. Shostakovich and Yevtushenklo next condemn the egos of the dictators. Next comes a tribute to the Russian women who endured the war and its aftermath, and whose reward was now to be cheated at the state store. Likewise, those who endured gunfire and shelling and who now have to worry about an untoward remark landing them in prison. Finally there is a bitter condemnation of the bureaucrats and toadies who make their living in the system, accomplishing nothing for society.
What did he REALLY think all those years? This symphony ought to dispel all doubts.
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