Unexpected Allies

History constantly reminds us that nothing in life can be taken for granted. Russia started WW2 in a pact with Nazi Germany annexing Eastern Poland and the Baltic States. The situation changed in June 1941 when Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and suddenly, Britain had an unexpected ally. The great Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich lived through the years of the Revolution, the establishment of the Soviet Union, and Stalin’s purges.
 

Two major symphonies that take us on a journey from darkness to light. Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, dubbed by a contemporary critic “A Soviet artist’s response to just criticism”, is his most popular symphony. George Lloyd served as a Royal Marine on HMS Trinidad on the Arctic convoys that supplied Russia once Nazi Germany had invaded it.

Conductor
John Gibbons

Leader
Julian Leaper

Ron Goodwin
633 Squadron

John Williams
Hymn to the Fallen from Saving Private Ryan

George Lloyd
Symphony No. 9

Eric Coates
The Dam Busters March

Dmitri Shostakovich
Symphony No. 5