What is Dmitri Shostakovich?
[[File:Dmitri Shostakovich credit Deutsche Fotothek adjusted.jpg|thumb|Dmitri Shostakovich (1950)]] '''Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich''' (born [[St Petersburg]], September 25, 1906; died [[Moscow]] August 9, 1975) was a [[Russia]]n-[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[composer]]. == Shostakovich's life == === Early years === Shostakovich's parents came from [[Siberia]]. His father was a [[biologist]] and [[engineering|engineer]], and his mother was a [[pianist]]. They lived comfortably, although this was to change after the [[Russian Revolution|Revolution]] (1917). Shostakovich studied the [[piano]] and [[Composition (music)|composition]] at the Petrograd Conservatory (St. Petersburg was called Petrograd between 1914 and 1924, after which it became Leningrad until 1991 when it became St. Petersburg again). After his mother died, the family were short of money, so young Dmitri had to earn money by playing the piano in [[cinema]]s for [[silent movie]]s. He worked extremely hard and with a lot of concentration. He was very successful both as a pianist and a composer. His Symphony No. 1 was very popular. His music sounded very modern with lots of [[dissonance|dissonant]] chords. His first dramatic works include an [[opera]] called ''[[The Nose (opera)|The Nose]]'' and a ballet called ''The Golden Age''. === Maturity === In 1930, he wrote an important opera called ''[[Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District]]''. It was a huge success, and the critics said that “it could only have been written by a Soviet composer brought up in the best traditions of Soviet [[culture]]”. One night in 1936, [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]] came to watch it. He left before the end. Two days later there was an article in the official government paper ''Pravda''. The title was “Chaos instead of Music”. It said that this opera was primitive and vulgar, full of screaming and noise. The politicians were criticizing not just Shostakovich but all modern Soviet music. Shostakovich was denounced, and his friends were too frightened to defend him in case they were