| 1. |
I was a Russian composer whose mother was a concert pianist and whose father worked in the Weights & Measures department of the Soviet government.
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| 2. |
My family wasn't exactly poor but we were hit hard by the famine that swept Russia in the early 1900's. My physical condition got so bad that a famous composer (Glazunov) appealed for extra food rations on my behalf.
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| 3. |
I learned first-hand about the perils of making fun of bureaucrats. I wrote an opera called "The Nose" about a civil servant who misplaces his nose and has to search for it. The opera was supposed to be funny but those in power didn't like it.
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| 4. |
My effort at dealing with drama in "Lady Macbeth of Mtzensk" was savaged by the press as being decadent. When I tried to appease the critics by doing an opera lauding the benefits of a collective farm, they ripped me for not being "realistic".
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| 5. |
Although I was technically too old to be in the military, I served on fire brigades during the Nazi fire-bombing of Moscow in World War 2. My seventh symphony was a musical depiction of this time.
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| 6. |
I wrote a symphony paying tribute to the millions who died under Nazi oppression. Again, it didn't please those in power. In fact, Nikita Kruschev publicly denounced it.
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| 7. |
Wouldn't you know it? Only after I died did the Soviet government decide that I was actually a pretty good fellow and my music was worthy of praise.
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