Dmitri Shostakovitch

Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich (Russian: Дмитрий Дмитриевич Шостакович), born on September 12, 1906 (September 25, 1906 in the Gregorian calendar) in Saint Petersburg in the Russian Empire and died on August 9, 1975 in Moscow in the USSR, was a Russian composer of the Soviet period.

Shostakovich rose to fame in the Soviet Union under the patronage of Chief of Staff Mikhail Tukhachevsky, but subsequently had a complex relationship with the government, which awarded him state prizes and privileges. Throughout his life, Shostakovich participated in bureaucratic functions and delegations, notably in the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (1947) and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (from 1962 until his death).

His work is characterized by its power and often heightened drama, grotesque elements, and ambivalent tonality; he was also strongly influenced by the neoclassical style of Igor Stravinsky and (especially in his symphonies) by the romanticism of Gustav Mahler. His work, accused of formalism by the Soviet authorities, made Shostakovich a major figure in 20th-century music.

He composed fifteen symphonies, six concertos, and a wealth of chamber music (fifteen string quartets, a piano quintet, and two pieces for string octet). His work also includes three operas and ballets, as well as numerous pieces for theater and cinema.