Dmitri Shostakovich

(September 25, 1906 – August 9, 1975) Dmitri Shostakovich was a Russian (Soviet) composer and pianist. He is considered one of the heavyweights of 20th-century music (he even appeared on the cover of Time magazine). He is noted for living a harrowing existence under the thumb of the tyrant Joseph Stalin.

Writing music at a time when friends, colleagues, neighbors and other prominent figures were arrested in the middle of the night and sent to their deaths, Shostakovich endured official censure and was for a time labeled an enemy of the state. He redeemed himself with his Fifth Symphony, subtitled “A Soviet Artist’s Response to Just Criticism.” Going forward, he managed to stay alive by placating the despot while, according to many scholars and musicians, achieving a sense of musical irony that was nothing short of defiant.

Shostakovich had a mind-boggling facility for turning out music fast and in any style, but is best known for his symphonies, operas, concertos, film scores, trios and string quartets.