Shostakovich and Us

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The comedian, actor and keen amateur musician Nick Mohammed explores how the Russian composer Shostakovich rose from relative obscurity in Britain of the 1930s to fame in the 1970s, when his name even became a byword, in British comedies like The Good Life and Morecambe and Wise, for serious modern music. Nick discovers that Shostakovich was first introduced to the British public by remarkable outward-looking individuals like Sir Henry Wood, who premiered part of Shostakovich's opera The Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District at the Proms in 1936, just a few months after it was effectively banned by Stalin in Russia. Music critics were oblivious to the impact the ban might have had on Shostakovich, who was now living in fear of his life, and in their reviews wrote it was "very thin stuff for sophisticated Western ears and minds." The British composer Benjamin Britten, however, was also in the audience and berated the "sniggering critics", writing in his diary “the satire is biting and brilliant... I will defend it through thick & thin." During WWII, Shostakovich's music was used to unite the allies and show solidarity with the Soviet Union. Nick is astounded to see the Radio Times promoting a Greetings to Joseph Stalin Concert in 1941, featuring Shostakovich's music and broadcast in honour of Stalin’s birthday. He also hears the nail-biting story of how the BBC acquired the Leningrad Symphony, with the orchestra learning the new work just in time to play it on the first anniversary of Germany invading Leningrad. In the BBC written archive, Nick also finds some fascinating correspondence between a BBC producer and a diplomat in Moscow and a letter from Shostakovich himself, responding to enquiries about his 15th Symphony. We hear how Shostakovich often confounded those within the Soviet regime and those without, particularly with his "hidden messages" which he said "those with ears will hear." He was guest of honour at the Edinburgh International Festival in 1962, and through the cellist Rostropovich, cultivated a firm friendship with Benjamin Britten. In his final visit of 1972, he came to watch his son conduct the British premiere of the 15th Symphony at the Royal Festival Hall and even visited York, where he met the the Fitzwilliam Quartet. Nick visits the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall in York with Alan George, viola player in the quartet, who relives his experience of playing the UK premiere of the 13th String Quartet in front of the composer. In a final revelation, Nick discovers Shostakovich went to see the musical Jesus Christ Superstar in London not once but twice. Andrew Lloyd Webber tells us how astounded he was by this and what it was like to meet him. The documentary includes new interviews with Andrew Lloyd Webber, Shostakovich biographer Elizabeth Wilson, Shostakovich expert Gerard McBurney, cultural historian Professor Pauline Fairclough, former Controller of Radio 3 and Director of the BBC Proms Nicholas Kenyon and viola player Alan George. Series Producer: Clare Walker for BBC Audio