Symphony for the City of the Dead

 

This was not what I was expecting at all.  Maybe I didn't read the description carefully enough but I missed that it was non-fiction.  I was thinking a fictionalized account of some sort.  But...even though it wasn't what I expected...it was good.  This book told the story of Dmitri Shostakovich, a composer who grew up in St. Petersburg (later Leningrad) and lived through the Revolution, the rule of Lenin, Stalin, and WWII and who wrote symphonies.  The symphony in the title was his 7th which was written and first performed during the siege of Leningrad during WWII. Although at points the author had to concede to possible errors due to the conflicting accounts and censorship in the Soviet Union, this was a powerful portrait of the composer's life and what was happening in Leningrad.  For students who love history and music this will be an interesting read.  I feel that it is too mature for my particular audience and even for the MSBA list.