40 - Opening concert of the 126th season of the Czech Philharmonic

The opening of the 126th season of the Czech Philharmonic was led by one of the most symbolic musical pieces of the 20th century. Dmitri Shostakovich refused evacuation from Leningrad surrounded by the German Army and wrote a new symphony there instead. Its premiere had been broadcasted on the radio during the blockade in 1942. Semyon Bychkov has family ties to the event – his mother had experienced it herself in Leningrad at the time.