Shostakovichrsquo;s Seventh Symphony was first played in the city of its birth on 9 August; 1942. There has never been a first performance to match it. Pray God; there never will be again. Almost a year earlier; the Germans had begun their blockade of the city. Already many thousands had died of their wounds; the cold; and most of all; starvation. The assembled musicians – scrounged from frontline units and military bands; for only twenty of the orchestrarsquo;s 100 players had survived – were so hungry; many feared theyrsquo;d be too weak to play the score right through. In these; the darkest days of the Second World War; the music and the defiance it inspired provided a rare beacon of light for the watching world. In Leningrad: Siege and Symphony ; Brian Moynahan sets the composition of Shostakovichrsquo;s most famous work against the tragic canvas of the siege itself and the years of repression and terror that preceded it. In vivid and compelling detail he tells the story of the cruelties heaped by the twin monsters of the twentieth century on a city of exquisite beauty and fine minds; and of its no less remarkable survival. Weaving Shostakovichrsquo;s own story and that of many others into the context of the maelstrom of Stalinrsquo;s purges and the brutal Nazi invasion of Russia; Leningrad: Siege and Symphony is a magisterial and moving account of one of the most tragic periods in history.
#3059679 in eBooks 2014-04-08 2014-04-08File Name: B00JKEYUP8
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Unless you know the songs already or can read music; dont bother.By C. GroveI should have thought about this further before purchasing. This might be fine if you either know the songs by heart or youre great at reading music but if neither then you will be lost trying to learn the songs simply by playing the chords. Because ALL the songs are theses SAME four chords they pretty much sound all alike! lol Kinda ridiculous; really!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Customerlove it and got a neighbor to order onel2 of 4 people found the following review helpful. I dont like the way this is laid outBy Danny CrossettThe book has some good songs but this is a beginner book and I do not like the way it is laid out. Instead of having all the verses right under the cords they have only the first verse with the cords and the other verses printed with no cords at the end of the music.
