When Stalin silenced Shostakovich

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Aug 5, 2025

Explore the tumultuous relationship between composer Dmitri Shostakovich and Stalin's oppressive regime. Discover how a scathing review transformed Shostakovich's career and led him to create the politically charged Symphony No. 5. Hear eyewitness accounts that reveal the dangers he faced under censorship, as well as the enduring impact of his work. Dive into the debate over whether his compositions were acts of defiance or conformity, and gain insights from his son about the legacy of a musical genius shaped by tyranny.

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ANECDOTE

Stalin's Disapproval of Opera

Stalin attended the 1936 Bolshoi Theatre performance of Shostakovich's opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and walked out after the third act.
The reaction devastated Shostakovich and marked the start of his blacklisting from public life.

ANECDOTE

Narrow Escape from Execution

Shostakovich was questioned by the KGB about supposed conspiracies but was spared execution when his interrogator was suddenly executed.
His family prepared for the worst, showing the ever-present danger under Stalin's purges.

ANECDOTE

Symphony No. 5 Comeback

Shostakovich composed Symphony No. 5 as a strategic comeback after being blacklisted.
The symphony was a huge success and marked his return to Soviet public life.

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Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich was one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. But in 1936, Joseph Stalin attended a performance of Shostakovich's opera, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.

The Soviet leader was unimpressed and left early. Days later, the state newspaper Pravda published a scathing review titled 'Muddle instead of music', castigating the music as bourgeois.

Shostakovich was blacklisted from public life, and feared for his safety during Stalin's ongoing purges.

The traditional style of his comeback Symphony No 5 in 1937 was a hit with the authorities, and Shostakovich's reputation was restored. But his true intentions are hugely debated – some experts argue the Fifth Symphony was a cleverly veiled act of dissent.

Fifty years on from the composer's death, his son Maxim Shostakovich unfolds the mystery with Ben Henderson.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive.

Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

(Photo: Dmitri Shostakovich and his son Maxim Shostakovich. Credit: Express/Getty Images)