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Dmitry Shostakovich, like his home country of Russia, was a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. From the very beginning of his career, he pushed the boundaries, but under Stalin’s stifling regime, experimental artists were enemies of the state, and Shostakovich was at the top of the wanted list. The composer was forced to censor his work and betray his own morals to survive - or was he?

Some say Shostakovich was Stalin’s faithful lackey; others read dissident messages in his music. This week, Donald Macleod traces five turning points in the composer's career, from his explosive debut to his dramatic exile, as he attempts to decode the mystery that surrounds Shostakovich.

In today’s programme, we hear about the fateful night that Stalin paid a visit to the opera, and Shostakovich’s career as a composer was changed forever…

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District, Act 1: Interlude & Act 2: Interlude
Orchestre De L'Opéra Bastille, conducted by Myung-Whun Chung

The Nose, Act 2: Interlude and Scene 6
Orchestra Of The Moscow Chamber Theatre, conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District, Act 2 Scene 5 & Act 3 Scene 6
The London Philharmonic Orchestra and The Ambrosian Opera Chorus, conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich
Dimiter Petkov, high bass
Galina Vishnevskaya, soprano
Nicolai Gedda, tenor

Symphony No. 4
The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda

Produced by Alice McKee in Cardiff.