Polina Barskova, associate professor of Russian literature at Hampshire College, will be joined by Mark Lane Swanson, senior lecturer in music at Amherst College, for a 50-minute discussion of the history and cultural significance of Dmitri Shostakovich's epic Symphony #7 in C major ("Leningrad").
Professor Barskova's many areas of scholarly interest include the aestheticization of historical trauma, especially the Siege of Leningrad. Mr. Swanson will comment on musical aspects of the symphony, which he will lead in a performance by the Amherst Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, April 15, at 8 p.m. in Buckley Recital Hall.
Drawings depicting the Siege of Leningrad from the series entitled V Dni Voiny: Semejnaia Khronika (In Days of War: A Family Chronicle) by Rimma Neratova will be presented for viewing at 4:30 p.m., followed by the discussion at 4:45 p.m. and reception.