Every musical work tends to have a story behind its pleasant melody of sounds. In Shostakovich’s Symphony No.7 Leningrad, one hears a variety of instruments playing at various tones and tempos throughout the 19 minute long piece. As mentioned in the Radio Leningrad article Shostakovich aimed good depict the war through this symphony. Did he manage to do this? Also what did the increase and decrease of tempo throughout the piece do for the work as a whole? Most importantly how did Shostakovich tie the war into a piece of music?
Radio Leningrad: Did it have a larger meaning?
At the beginning of Olga Berggolts “This is Radio Leningrad!” the reader is introduced to war-stricken Russia. This is a time of hardship for many as the war goes into the cold winter months. All that can be heard in the nation at this time is the explosions of weapons, for even the nation’s voice is silenced at this time. The radio had already been down for three days in Leningrad when Olga and her counterpart decided the silence could no longer go on. “The Art Director of the Radio Committee Babushkin, Makogonenko, editor of the Literary Department and myself drew up a detailed plan, toiling over it practically all through the night by the light of our only dim electric bulb with a newspaper for a shade.” Olga and Babushkin worked to create their master plan which would be known as Radio Leningrad. Radio Leningrad provided information about the war to the people of Leningrad and surrounding areas. This information was passed along through various forms of broadcasts such as personal narratives, poems, and short stories. One may hear from a soldier or even a common townsman about their experiences at this time of war. Thus the question I would like to propose is: Did Radio Leningrad have a larger meaning to the people of Leningrad than just a means of spreading information? Also, how did these different types of broadcasts have an affect on the information that was given? Was there more meaning to the broadcasts when they was given in the form of a first person perspective rather than a third person report?
