Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we will be sharing an episode of our Music Director Gerard Schwarz's Emmy-Award Winning PBS TV Series with the All-Star Orchestra.

Today's episode is entitled "Politics and Art" and features Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5

Music has sometimes reflected, and at other times challenged repressive ideologies. Shostakovich abandoned the premiere of his challenging 4th Symphony for fear of reprisals from the Stalinist government. His triumphant 5th Symphony was next, and the authorities were pleased. To this day the 5th is Shostakovich’s most popular symphony. What is its message? What does “political music” mean today?

We hope you have been enjoying this series! Be sure to tune in on Wednesday for the next episode!

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