BSO OFF THE CUFF: Shostakovich's 7th Symphony Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Friday, May 4, 2012 at 8:15 PM Music Center at Strathmore

Discover how music can be a powerful symbol of resistance and defiance, and how a composer can survive artistically in a climate of repression and censorship under Stalin. Dmitri Shostakovich’s profoundly moving Symphony No. 7 was composed in 1941 and dedicated to the city of Leningrad while it was under siege by German forces. A searing condemnation of Nazi totalitarianism, it captures the savage arena of battle, the tragedy of so many lives lost, and the taste of potential victory.

This concert will run approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.