Dmitri Chostakovitch

Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (in Russian: Дмитрий Дмитриевич Шостакович, /ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ˈdmʲitrʲɪɪvʲɪtɕ ʂəstɐˈkovʲɪtɕ/), born on 12 September 1906 (25 September 1906 in the Gregorian calendar) in Saint Petersburg in the Russian Empire and died on 9 August 1975 in Moscow in the USSR, was a Russian composer of the Soviet period.

Shostakovich became famous in the Soviet Union under the patronage of Chief of Staff Mikhail Tukhachevsky, but later maintained complex relations with the government, which awarded him state prizes and privileges. Throughout his life, Shostakovich participated in bureaucratic functions and delegations, notably in the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (1947) and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (from 1962 until his death).

His work is characterised by its strength and often heightened dramaticism, grotesque elements, and an ambivalent tone; he was also strongly influenced by Igor Stravinsky's neoclassical style and (especially in his symphonies) by Gustav Mahler's romanticism. His work, accused of formalism by the Soviet authorities, makes Shostakovich a major figure in 20th-century music.

He is the author of fifteen symphonies, six concertos, abundant chamber music (fifteen string quartets, a piano quintet, and two pieces for string octet). His work also includes three operas and ballets, as well as numerous scores for theatre and cinema.