I have never been into classical music (my impression having been that it all sounds same-y, with the exception of Wagner, who is totally BOSS). But today I stumbled upon Shostakovich’s 8th Symphony (1943) and a commentary to it by a French scholar of music. So sublime and stirring! Look at some videos or pictures of the Battle of Stalingrad while listening.
Recommended related reading: Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor, and A Writer at War by Vasily Grossman, with Beevor’s excellent translation. I’ve read both—damn good, with an uncommon understanding of Russia and what the War meant and still means for us. As a Russian patriot (well… of a sort), I must say that Beevor deserves a medal from our government, not its slander.
Ah, thanks to your recommendation I picked up Beevor’s Stalingrad, and I really liked the book. The writer tries hard to be balanced and correct (with a lot of sources from different sides); yet the story never ceases to captivate the reader, and never loses the overall view of the horrors of the battle.
I have never been into classical music (my impression having been that it all sounds same-y, with the exception of Wagner, who is totally BOSS). But today I stumbled upon Shostakovich’s 8th Symphony (1943) and a commentary to it by a French scholar of music. So sublime and stirring! Look at some videos or pictures of the Battle of Stalingrad while listening.
Recommended related reading: Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor, and A Writer at War by Vasily Grossman, with Beevor’s excellent translation. I’ve read both—damn good, with an uncommon understanding of Russia and what the War meant and still means for us. As a Russian patriot (well… of a sort), I must say that Beevor deserves a medal from our government, not its slander.
Ah, thanks to your recommendation I picked up Beevor’s Stalingrad, and I really liked the book. The writer tries hard to be balanced and correct (with a lot of sources from different sides); yet the story never ceases to captivate the reader, and never loses the overall view of the horrors of the battle.