Dmitri Shostakovich was a Soviet-era Russian composer of the twentieth century, born in Saint Petersburg, where he spent much of his early career before relocating to Moscow in 1943. His output centers on fifteen symphonies and fifteen string quartets, alongside concertos for piano, violin, and cello, three operas, three ballets, chamber music, and film scores. He worked under a difficult and often fraught relationship with the Soviet state, facing official condemnation of his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk in 1936 and renewed denunciation under the Zhdanov Doctrine in 1948, even as he later held official positions including chairmanship of the RSFSR Union of Composers. He died in Moscow in 1975, following a diagnosis of lung cancer, with his death also attributed to heart failure.

Internationally recognized from the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926, Shostakovich is regarded as one of the twentieth century’s foremost symphonists and quartet composers, his music prized for its capacity to convey both public statement and private, often coded meaning under an authoritarian regime. His reputation has continued to grow since his death, with sustained scholarly debate over the political dimensions of his work reinforcing his standing as one of the era’s most significant and frequently performed composers.

Compare recordings piece by piece — 14 works of Dmitri Shostakovich with more than one performance on the site →

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Shostakovich