Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich died in 1975 without completing his dream of setting Anton Chekhov’s short story, “The Black Monk,” as an opera. Thanks to playwright James Glossman and musician ...

There it was -- finally -- that big Russian sound, bright to the edge of brashness, expressive to the point of effusion. For the past week, the Kirov Opera and Orchestra have resided at the Kennedy ...

Some works of art are inextricably tied to their time and place of birth. Shostakovich’s Symphony No. Eight is a prime example. Composed in Soviet Russia in 1943, it is impossible to discuss this ...

The life of a composer is not always an easy one, but few composers in history have walked a political tightrope as warily as did Dmitry Shostakovich. Censured by Josef Stalin, a dictator not known ...

When Rafael Payare dropped his arms Friday evening to end the San Diego Symphony’s concert, the audience at Copley Symphony Hall burst into cheers and rose to their feet. The cause of this ovation was ...

If the symphonies of Dmitri Shostakovich represent the composer at his most public, his 15 string quartets reflect his most private reflections: They are a diary of a life lived, for the most part, ...

One of Shostakovich's most powerful symphonies receives a bold performance by the young Russian conductor Vasily Petrenko with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. The piece is an explosion of fervent ...

The Pro Musica Colorado Chamber Orchestra launched its 10th season in majestic style last October, joining with the fledgling (but highly skilled and specialized) Colorado Masterworks Chorus in that ...

Like most Russian composers—and unlike his fellows in capitalist countries—Dmitri Shostakovich works for a corporation. Its headquarters are a modern redbrick combination office and apartment house ...

Many years ago, a relative of mine used the term "music-intense" in conversation to describe a musician we both knew. I think it's also an apt descriptor for BBC music broadcaster Stephen Johnson. His ...