Leningrad Comes to America: The 1942 American Premiere of the Shostakovich Seventh Symphony

Abstract

In October 1942, the conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, Artur Rodzinski, was preparing his ensemble for a performance of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, which had been played for the first time in the United States by the NBC Symphony the previous July. On the eve of the Cleveland concert, the Polish-born maestro, a champion of Shostakovich’s music, described the “tremendous” score he would shortly introduce to Cleveland audiences. Even after several rehearsals, he said, his orchestra was “still overcome with emotion.” Noting that the Seventh was so “timely,” he called it “the apotheosis of liberty [and] the stirring expression of victory over barbarism.” The Polish conductor, who was no doubt profoundly distressed by Germany’s wartime actions, reflected upon the significance of playing the Seventh Symphony in America, calling the upcoming performance not just “one of the greatest musical events” in years, but “one of the greatest political events.” As this chapter will suggest, there was considerable accuracy in Rodzinski’s observation.