The siege of Leningrad was the longest siege of the war.

It was the longest siege since ancient times,

and the deadliest siege of all time.

Welcome to the history of the 20th century.

Music Welcome to the history of the 20th century. Episode 407, The Siege of Leningrad, Part 2.

Dimitriovich Shostakovich was born on September 25th, 1906, in what was then St. Petersburg.

His mother began giving him piano lessons when he was nine years old,

and immediately he demonstrated considerable musical talent.

In 1919, when he was 13 years old,

Dmitri entered what was by then called the Petrograd Conservatory, a prestigious school of music. Its director at the time was the celebrated composer Alexander Glazanov.

Shostakovich studied piano and composition at the conservatory and appears to have

impressed most of the faculty,

including Glazanov himself. For a time, Shostakovich earned a little money on the side

by playing the piano at a silent movie theater. From this experience, he developed a taste

for adding to his compositions,

playful instrumental parts that sometimes poked irreverent fun at the larger work.

In 1925, when he was 18, Shostakovich traveled to Moscow to attend a concert that included one of his own works.

His composition didn't attract much attention, but it did give him the opportunity to meet

Marshal Mikhail Tukachevsky, the Red Army commander and hero of the Russian Civil War.

Tukhyshevsky was impressed with the young man and became something of a patron to him.

Later that year, Shostakovich graduated from the Conservatory. His graduation composition was his

first symphony, which impressed a sufficient number of people to earn it a 1926 premiere with what was by that time called

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