The War Symphonies: Shostakovich Against Stalin (1997)

The War Symphonies: Shostakovich Against Stalin Poster

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77 min - Documentary | Biography | Music

6.7

Ratings: 6.7/10 from 57 users
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Documentary on how composer Dmitri Shostakovich used his Fourth to Ninth Symphony as a silent protest against the crimes of Stalin.

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
	Valery Gergiev	...	Himself - Conductor "Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9" and "Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk District" / Interviewee / Pianist "Rayok"
	Netherlands Radio Philharmonic	...	Themselves - Orchestra "Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9"
	Flora Litvinova	...	Herself - Friend
	Graham Haley	...	Shostakovich (voice)
	Dmitri Shostakovich	...	Himself (archive footage)
	Dmitri Tolstoy	...	Himself - Composer
	Joseph Stalin	...	Himself (archive footage)
	Bulat Minzhilkiev	...	Boris - Opera "Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk District" / Himself - Baritone "Rayok"
	Irina Loskutova	...	Katerina - Opera "Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk District"
	The Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre	...	Themselves - Orchestra (Opera "Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk District")
	Karen Khachaturyan	...	Himself - Composer (as Karen Khachaturian)
	Abram Gozenpud	...	Himself - Musicologist
	Mariana Sabinina	...	Herself - Musicologist
	Mariya Konniskaya	...	Herself - Friend
	Natan Perelman	...	Himself - Friend

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Storyline

During the Interwar period and World War Two, Joseph Stalin dictated Russia in a bloody manner. Composer Dmitri Shostakovich couldn't agree at all with the policies that the tyrant used, but speaking out loud was impossible. It would have cost him his life. Shostakovich found another way: art. This documentary shows how Shostakovich used his Fourth to Ninth Symphony as a silent protest against the crimes of Stalin. Written by Arnoud Tiele (imdb@tiele.nl)

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