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That Shostakovich wrote much of his 7th Symphony whilst living in the besieged Leningrad of 1941 is perhaps key to its overwhelming power. The famous ‘invasion music’ of the first movement starts with a distant military snare drum accompanying a seemingly simple and non-threatening melody. Structurally, the music is a little like Ravel’s 'Bolero', with the melody and its rhythms being continually repeated, developed and growing in volume, but dramatically it couldn’t be more different; it’s an intense and almost frightening experience, but a very rewarding one.

Composer: Dmitri Shostakovich
Performers: ´óÏó´«Ã½ Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Semyon Bychkov
Recording date: 18 April 2013
Date of broadcast: 18 April 2013