Amid Hunger And Cold, An Unforgettable Symphony Premiere — npr.org

Citizens of Leningrad collect water from a broken main in the winter of 1942, during a blockade of the Russian city by Nazis. AP hide caption Citizens of Leningrad collect water from a broken main in the winter of 1942, during a blockade of the Russian city by Nazis. In early 1941, Dmitri Shostakovich was nervous. He was one of Soviet Russia's most brilliant composers, but he had fallen out of favor with the ruthless dictator Joseph Stalin.

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