A Tale of Dmitri and Dmitry: Shostakovich and Kabalevsky

Donald Macleod talks to Marina Frolova-Walker about the "two Dmitri/ys" - Shostakovich and Kabalevsky - and their very different relationships with the state.

As part of BBC Radio 3's "Breaking Free: A Century of Russian Culture" season, Composer of the Week unravels the lives and masterpieces of the musicians that shaped musical life from the USSR's inception in 1917 through to its dissolution in 1991. In this first week, Donald Macleod explores a host of composers - from familiar names like Shostakovich and Prokofiev to lesser-known, though no less brilliant, figures like Gavriil Popov and Alexander Mosolov - whose music documents the turbulent and fascinating story of Russia up to Stalin's death in 1953.

Donald is joined by the Russian music expert Marina Frolova-Walker as they explore the tensions, censorship and cultural terror of the 1920s and 30s, followed by the trauma of the Second World War and finally the infamous Zhdanov affair of the late 1940s, which censured some of the USSR's foremost composers.

In today's episode, Donald and Marina tell the story of Dmitri Shostakovich's infamous censure by the state in the mid-1930s, at which time he was accused of writing "Muddle Instead of Music", and after which he lived in fear for his life. His story is juxtaposed with that of Dmitry Kabalevsky - a favourite of the state, yet whose music often dazzles with lyricism and imagination.

Kabalevsky
Galop from "The Comedians"
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Vassily Sinaisky, conductor

Shostakovich
Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, Op 29 (Scene 2 Interlude - opening of Scene 3)
Galina Vishnevskaya, soprano
Dimiter Petkov, bass
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Mstislav Rostropovich, conductor

Kabalevsky
Piano Concerto No 2, Op 23 (1st mvt)
Kathryn Stott, piano
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Vassily Sinaisky, conductor

Shostakovich
Symphony No 4 (3rd mvt)
Scottish National Orchestra
Neeme Järvi, conductor.