Memory Score
Details
“An hour ago I finished a two-part score of my new composition”
On 17 September 1941 D. Shostakovich spoke about his work on the Seventh symphony on Leningrad radio
The State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg keeps a unique document: the manuscript of Shostakovich’s speech on the Leningrad radio when he mentioned the Seventh Symphony for the first time. This exhibit will be shown in the Philharmonia exhibition which is a part of the project Memory Score.
A sheet of paper, covered in handwriting on both sides, with numerous revisions, reminds us of the first days of the siege – the most horrible period in the city’s history. On 17 September Dmitry Shostakovich spoke on the radio where he had been invited by Olga Bergholz. The composer prepared thoroughly for the broadcast, thinking over his speech and realizing that every word he said should be attuned to the worries and hopes of millions of people locked within the blockade circle.
In summer 1941 air raids, blackouts, obstruction air baloons hanging above the city, and firing points became a part of the daily life for Leningrad citizens. People worked to build defence facilitites, learnt how to provide first aid. Shostakovich was a witness and a participant in all this. In July 1941 he became a fire-fighter in the volunteer fire brigade composed of the conservatory faculty members. The famous photo of composer while on duty on the conservatory roof was made on 29 July by Raphail Mazelev. This photo of the Seventh Symphony creator will make it to the cover of the Time magazine in 1942.
On 8 September the siege was completed around the Northern capital. In September the citizens were yet unaware that the city was fully surrounded by the German and Finnish troops. The newspaper editorials were full of slogans calling to defend the city from the enemy. They said, “The enemy is standing at the gate,” but there was no official recognition of the blockade. The slogan All for the front, All for victory was more than just words. A lot of people tried to contribute as much as they could: they took the factory workplaces of those who went to the front, joined the local anti-aircraft brigades, raised funds for the army.
On 14 September 1941 the Philharmonic Hall saw the first concert in the besieged city. The Leningradskaya Pravda wrote, “The Grand Philharmonic Hall was overcrowded. The artists enjoyed great success: composer D.Shostakovich, writer E.Schwartz, actors from the Kirov Drama Theatre O.Iordan, V.Legkov, S.Koren, V.Kastorsky.” Later Shostakovich wrote the following about the concert, “I was enthusiastically playing my preludes for the most unusual audience in the most unusual circumstances.” Around that time Olga Bergholz invited Shostakovich to take part in the new radio program “Here is Leningrad speaking!”
The text was most certainly written by the composer in his flat in 29 Kronverkskaya street on the Petrogradskaya Side. Shostakovich wanted to start his speech with these words, “When I walk around the city I have a strong feeling that Leningrad will always be shining on the banks of the Neva, Leningrad will always be the strongest bastion of my Motherland, it will always increase and preserve the cultural heritage.”
The document from the museum is almost a word-for-word script of what was said on air. We have the testimony of Olga Bergholz who describes Shostakovich’s speech in her book “Here is Leningrad speaking”: “An hour ago I finished a two-part score of a large symphonic composition”, began Shostakovich. “If I manage to write this work well, if I manage to finish the third and the fourth movements, then it will be possible to call this work the Seventh symphony. Despite it being wartime, despite the perils our city is facing, I managed to write two parts of the symphony in a very short time. Why am I saying this? I am saying this so the radio listeners might know that life goes on in the city as normal… We are all keeping our watch now. Cultural workers are doing their duty as honestly and courageously as other citizens of Leningrad…”
According to Bergholz, the program wasn’t interrupted even by the bombings, which occurred at that time. Concluding his speech the composer said, “Good bye, comrades, in some time I will finish my Seventh symphony. I have a clear mind, and my creative energy unstoppably drives the composition to its end. Then again I will come on the air with my new work, and will be anticipating your friendly but rigorous evaluation. I assure you on behalf of all citizens of Leningrad, workers of culture and arts that we are invincible and we are keeping our watch…”
Dmitry Shostakovich found apt words to tell about his rueful emotions and hopes for victory. His speech had colossal resonance. On 22 September 1941 Vera Inber, Leningrad poet and writer, wrote in her diary, “We left Kiev. How dark my soul is. Yesterday there were several air raid alerts. <…> I was excited to hear that in these days, in the besieged city, under bomb shells Shostakovich is writing a symphony. And moreover, the Leningradskaya Pravda puts this information among the news summaries from the Southern front, among the episodes telling about enemy planes and bottles with explosives. It means art is not dead, it is still alive, it is shining and warming out hearts.”
Irina Karpenko, Science Secretary of the State Museum of St. Petersburg History, Candidate of History