Leonard Bernstein in Salzau 1988 – Part II: Introduction and Performance of Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No. 1 in F minor, op.10

Dmitry Shostakovich (* St. Petersburg, 1906 - + Moscow, 1975) immediately made a name for himself with his First Symphony. In spite of political pressure from the Soviet authorities on account of his alleged "Western formalism", and in spite of certain critiques from Western commentators, Shostakovich is considered as the Soviet Union's major symphonist and one of Russia's greatest composers. The influence of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky- Korsakov, Mahler, Stravinsky and Hindemith is evident in his early works.