Wiener Symphoniker / Viotti

Shostakovich's 7th Symphony is almost fatefully interwoven with the tragic events of world history. Together with Symphonies No. 8 from 1943 and No. 9 from 1945, it forms a »war triad[!!!![. It was composed in 1941, during the siege of Leningrad. In the Soviet daily newspaper Pravda, Shostakovich confessed: »I dedicate my Seventh Symphony to our fight against fascism, to our inevitable victory over the enemy, and to Leningrad, my home city ...«

Music against war and terror
To this day, the symphony is considered a monument of resistance against war and terror. Even an air raid alarm is said not to have persuaded the audience at the Moscow premiere to seek shelter – - so captivating was the music of the Seventh. The Vienna Symphony Orchestra performs the legendary work under the baton of Lorenzo Viotti. This is preceded by an orchestral arrangement of Johann Sebastian Bach's emotional Chaconne, which many see as a musical tombstone for Bach's deceased wife Maria Barbara.