From Laurel Fay's wonderful and indespensible Shostakovich: A Life:
"The final movement of the [13th] symphony, "A Career," was dated 20 July 1962, a date that... Shostakovich would commemorate for the rest of his life." (pg. 229)
In honor of the man and his music, and in the spirit of continuing the celebration (and turning this into a yearly thing), posted below is 5th movement (NB- the first video begins at the end of the 4th movement). I plan on listening to the movement and spending a moment or two reflecting on the text. As Shostakovich said, "Every morning, instead of morning prayers, I reread–well, recite from memory–two poems by Yevtushenko, "Boots" and "A Career." "Boots" is conscience. "A Career" is morality. One should not be deprived of conscience. To lose conscience is to lose everything. And conscience needs to be instilled from earliest childhood." (pg. 229)
