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Lot #843
Dmitri Shostakovich: The great composer writes of his opera, reportedly condemned by Stalin, and banned for 30 years

The great composer writes of his opera, reportedly condemned by Stalin, and banned for 30 years

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The great composer writes of his opera, reportedly condemned by Stalin, and banned for 30 years

Soviet composer (1906–1975) whose 15 symphonies occupy a place of central performance in the orchestral literature of the twentieth century. TLS in Russian, signed “D. Shostakovich,” one page, 5.5 x 8, December 9, 1963. Letter to Professor Merka. In part (translated): “My opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was performed in Chechoslovakia in the 1930’s…I also wrote the opera The Nose…I did a revision of ‘Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk’ (’Katerina Ismailova’) and it is now being performed in Moscow, Riga, Kiev, and London.” Some light creasing and wrinkling and a blue ink notation to left edge, otherwise fine condition. Lady Macbeth tells the story of a lonely woman in 19th century Russia, who falls in love with one of her husband's workers and is driven to murder. This opera was the main vehicle for a general denunciation of Shostakovich's music by the Communist Party in early 1936. RRAuction COA.

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