De oorlogssymfonieën - Shostakovich contra Stalin

Dutch/Canadian co-production about the Russian composer Dmitry Shostakovich. Shostakovich was recognised as one of the greatest composers of the twentieth century, but during his life he was largely regarded as a Stalinist showpiece. Only after his death did it become clear that he was not in reality such a great fan of the Soviet regime. He had often hidden criticism of his country in his choice of key and melody line. In The War Symphonies, filmmaker Larry Weinstein and conductor Valery Gergiev interview various colleagues, friends and contemporaries of Shostakovich. The composer himself also speaks out through fragments of letters that were unknown until recently.