Shostakovich and the Soviet Union
“Every artist, everyone who considers himself an artists, has the right to create freely according to his ideal…However, as are Communists and we must not stand with folded hands and let chaos develop as it pleases.” – Vladimir Lenin, from his book O Kulture I Skusstve (about Culture and Art). The art of music can serve many purposes. It can praise some higher power, or take you away from the struggles of the mundane. Rarely do imagine music as being a tool of political power. As was the case with composers living in the Soviet Union. Dimitri Shostakovich struggled to interpret the world as the State commanded their hands. But it wasn't always the case. Beginning in the mid-1600s, Peter the Great initiated a policy of 'Westernizing' Russia. Music - along with fashion and architecture - flowed into Saint Petersburg. In the 1700s, empresses Elizabeth and Catherine popularized Italian operas among the aristocracy. But it was the 1800s which saw the emergence of ...
