Description
This work details the Siege of Leningrad by the Nazis, lasting from 1941 to 1944, in which over 600,000 civilians died from starvation and hypothermia. Interlaced into Moynahan's story of the significant impact of the Siege on the city is that of the creation of Dmitri Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony ("Leningrad"). Shostakovich began the work in July 1941, just before the start of the Siege that September. Evacuated from Leningrad, he completed the symphony in December 1941 and dedicated it to the imperiled city he had left behind. After the international success of the piece, a performance was organized in Leningrad itself in August 1942. The performance was undertaken by remnants of the Leningrad Radio Orchestra, supplemented by members of the Russian Army, and conducted by Karl Eliasburg.
