SHOSTAKOVICH-VICTORY GALA — 80!

The article provides an overview of the anniversary events that were dedicated to Russia’s most significant celebration — the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The works by D. D. Shostakovich that are not widely known today, were performed, including the unfinished opera The Big Lightning based on a libretto by N. N. Aseev; a suite from the music for the film Five Days — Five Nights; The Second Piano Concerto; and The Solemn Overture, which has long won the hearts of listeners. Shostakovich’s operatic brainchild is considered in the context of his musical theatre, of which two works — The Players by Gogol and The Big Lightning — remained unfinished. Shostakovich dedicated his Second Piano Concerto to his son Maxim upon his admission to the piano faculty at the Moscow Conservatory. It is pointed out that film music, including Five Days — Five Nights, became one of the composer’s leading fields, enriched by his experience of direct dubbing of silent films in his youth.