“There can be no music without ideology. The old composers, whether they knew it or not, were upholding a political theory. Most of them, of course, were bolstering the rule of the upper classes. Only Beethoven was a forerunner of the revolutionary movement. If you read his letters, you will see how often he wrote to his friends that he wished to give new ideas to the public and rouse it to revolt against its masters.”

New York Times, December 20, 1931.

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Dmitri Shostakovich32

Russian composer and pianist 1906–1975

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Dmitri Shostakovich32

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