Billy Waldman
6 May 2025
Have you ever heard of Beethoven? If you live anywhere in the Western world, the answer is probably yes. Similarly, most people are familiar with Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers, even if not by name. But have you heard of Busoni? Gluck? Palestrina?
In 1944, amidst the devastation of World War II, Shostakovich composed his 2nd Piano Trio. The work was originally written to appease Stalin’s political agenda; in fact, Shostakovich took great care in catering to Stalin’s aesthetic preferences for the sake of creating an agreeable, pro-soviet portrayal of the war...
