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" "I don't think that either self-deprecation or self-aggrandizement is among the defining qualities of an artist…Beethoven could have been forgiven if his symphonies had gone to his head. Gretchaninoff could also be forgiven if his Dobrinya Nikititch went to his head. But neither one could be forgiven for writing a piece that was amoral, servile, the work of a flunky.
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (25 September 1906 – 9 August 1975) was a Soviet composer and pianist. Many of his works mark the epochs of Soviet history, or explore his own position as an artist in a communist state. Since his death there has been much controversy as to his private political views.
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You ask if I would have been different without "Party guidance"? Yes, almost certainly. No doubt the line I was pursuing when I wrote the Fourth Symphony would have been stronger and sharper in my work. I would have displayed more brilliance, used more sarcasm, I could have revealed my ideas openly instead of having to resort to camouflage.