shostakovich is best known for his fifteen symphonies and fifteen string quartets. his most important opera is "lady macbeth of the mtsensk district". he also wrote a lot of film music and music for plays including "hamlet". shostakovich read a lot of russian literature. his songs had words by famous russian writers such as alexander pushkin, fyodor dostoevsky, marina tsvetaeva and alexander blok. he wrote twenty-four preludes and fugues for piano, a piano trio, two piano concertos, a piano quintet, a sonata for cello and piano, and a sonata for viola and piano (his last work).