Dmitri Shostakovich.

Shostakovich was born on September 12, 1906, in St. Petersburg, Russia, to Dmitry Boleslavovich Shostakovich, a chemical engineer, and Sofia Kokaoulina, a pianist. He began piano lessons with his mother and could play from memory. From 1919 to 1925, he studied piano and composition at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. His influences included Bach, Beethoven, and Mussorgsky. He wrote his First Symphony as his graduation piece.

Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk premiered in 1934 and was performed over 100 times before being denounced in Pravda in 1936. During the Siege of Leningrad in 1941, he served as a firefighter and composed his Seventh Symphony, which premiered on August 9, 1942, in the besieged city. In 1948 he was again accused of formalism, but his international recognition grew. He collaborated with poet Yevgeniy Yevtushenko on Symphony No. 13 Babi Yar 1962. He also scored films like The Gadfly 1955 and Hamlet 1964.

Shostakovich was married three times: to Nina Varzar 1932–1954, Margarita Kainova 1956–1960, and Irina Supinskaya 1962–1975. He had two children: Maxim Shostakovich, a conductor, and Galina Dmitrievna Shostakovich. He was a fan of the Zenit Leningrad football club and qualified as a football referee. He suffered from a neurological disorder affecting his right hand, multiple heart attacks, and lung cancer. He continued composing until his final work, the Viola Sonata, completed a month before his death.

Shostakovich’s music is performed worldwide. His Eighth String Quartet, written in three days, is a deeply expressive work. He taught and mentored many composers, including Andrey Petrov and Boris Tishchenko. He was awarded the Hero of Socialist Labour and the Lenin Prize. His symphonies, especially the Fifth, Seventh, and Thirteenth, are staples of the orchestral repertoire despite political pressure. He is today regarded as a major 20th-century composer.