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The War Symphonies

THE WAR SYMPHONIES delves into the harrowing subject of Stalin's bloody purge on Russia and Shostakovich's musical counterattack. The Symphonies Four to Nine (1936-1945) are the composer's weapons against Stalin's rampant bloodletting, or as Shostakovich calls them, his 'tombstones.'

Shot on location in St. Petersburg and Moscow, the film features the passionate music making of Valery Gergiev with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and the Orchestra of Mariinsky Theatre.