Symphony No. 13 (Shostakovich)

The Symphony No. 13 in B-flat minor (Op. 113, subtitled Babi Yar) by Dmitri Shostakovich was completed on July 20, 1962 and first performed in Moscow on 18 December 1962 by the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and the basses of the Republican State and Gnessin Institute Choirs, under Kirill Kondrashin (after Yevgeny Mravinsky refused to conduct the work). The soloist was Vitali Gromadsky. This work has been variously called a song cycle and a choral symphony since the composer included settings of poems by Yevgeny Yevtushenko that concerned the World War II Babi Yar massacre and other topics. The five poems Shostakovich set to music (one poem per movement) are earthily vernacular and cover every aspect of Soviet life.