Puppet

Dmitry Shostakovich, like his home country of Russia, was a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. From the very beginning of his career, he pushed the boundaries, but under Stalin’s stifling regime, experimental artists were enemies of the state, and Shostakovich was at the top of the wanted list. The composer was forced to censor his work and betray his own morals to survive - or was he?

Some say Shostakovich was Stalin’s faithful lackey; others read dissident messages in his music. This week, Donald Macleod traces five turning points in the composer's career, from his explosive debut to his dramatic exile, as he attempts to decode the mystery that surrounds Shostakovich.

The death of Stalin should have meant rebirth for Shostakovich, but in today’s programme, we find the composer caught up in a new power struggle.

Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93: II. Allegro
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vasily Petrenko

Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 67: III & IV
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Emanuel Ax, piano
Isaac Stern, violin

Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93: IV. Andante - Allegro
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vasily Petrenko

The Gadfly Suite, Op. 97a: VI. Galop, VII. Introduction, X. Nocturne
London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maxim Shostakovich

Produced by Alice McKee in Cardiff.