Understanding of the War in “The Blockade Chronicle” by Boris Tishchenko

Abstract

The study aims to show the understanding of the war in the post-war creative work of Boris Tishchenko, embodying the most universal values of life. The paper describes the “Leningrad” symphony by D. D. Shostakovich (1941) as the personification of Leningraders’ suffering and resistance, as a symbol of confidence in victory; presents a brief biography of B. Tishchenko, a student and follower of D. D. Shostakovich; analyses the program symphony “The Blockade Chronicle”, which reflects the perception of the war in all its unsightliness, inhumanity and senselessness. The scientific novelty of the study lies in determining the main features of the program symphony “The Blockade Chronicle”, such as the cinematic quality and theatricality, presented in the form of recordings of the sound component reflecting real military events. Such a sound component is an integral part of the symphony and requires the use of an expanded percussion section in addition to a large symphony orchestra for its performance. As a result, it has been proved that the image of the war in B. Tishchenko’s symphony “The Blockade Chronicle” is primarily associated with the irretrievable loss of the most beautiful and pure things, with the loss of humanity by a person.