It is no secret that our Maestra, Sebrina María Alfonso, has a deep and abiding love for the music of Dmitri Shostakovich. Her penetrating insight into his genius has resulted in numerous memorable performances of his works given by South Florida Symphony Orchestra, under her baton, over the years. We, her devoted audience, are the fortunate recipients of her shared knowledge. Today we are to hear his Ninth Symphony.

Dmitri, named for his civil engineering father, was the middle of three children and was born and educated in St. Petersburg. His mother played the piano and started giving her son lessons when he was nine. Young Shostakovich gifts were soon apparent to all and, at 13, he was admitted to the Petrograd Conservatory, where he studied piano and composition. The story of his life as a composer during and after the Stalin years is so well known that I'll omit even a précis here.

Of the 15 symphonies composed by Shostakovich, number Nine is probably his most delightfully playful. The horrendous war against Nazi Germany was finally over and, at least temporarily, so were Dmitri's woes. Following the premiere performance, on November 3rd 1945, in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) to open the 25th season of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, critics blasted the work. Locally, he was accused of "ideological weakness" along with other unpatriotic transgressions. In the West, his perceived failings were cited as trivializing the Nazi defeat. Within three years of its first performance, the Soviet Censorship Board banned the work completely along with a number of his other compositions.

As South Florida Symphony Orchestra celebrates its own Silver Jubilee, we welcome the resurrection of this delightful composition. Though this symphony is composed in five movements, the last three are played without a break.