I. Introduzione

For baritone and string orchestra. The poems by Martynov, in turns harrowing and sarcastic, form a veiled indictment of the Soviet system. The symphony was blacklisted after the first performance. At the première baritone Yuri Grigoriev was choked by emotion. 'I didn't know if I was going to be arrested the following day', he later admitted. He wasn't. Dmitri Shostakovich was reportedly present, acquired the score and avidly studied the work, which he greatly admired.