Initially begun in 1981 by filmmaker Semyon Aranovich, Shostakovich Sonata gained Aleksandr Sokurov’s distinctive mark after the noted Russian director was invited to participate in editing the archival footage for the film. His editorial decisions and choice of images created a film with broad historical context, fleshing out the narrow biographical framework Aranovich had originally envisioned. Sokurov’s film is a tragic requiem for an artist whose creative work developed and flourished yet almost inevitably found opposition in state ideology. This biography of Shostakovich is about the triumph of powerful art and the defeat and death of a weak man burdened by his gift.

The Harvard Film Archive is pleased to have Yakov Gubanov introduce his favorite film, Shostakovich Sonata. A student of Shostakovich and a composer in his own right, Yakov is the Harvard Film Archive’s resident pianist/composer of scores for silent cinema screenings.