A scarce and highly evocative original Soviet wartime gala concert programme, 

 held in Kuibyshev on 6 November 1941 during the Battle of Moscow

to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the October Revolution.

A celebration of Russian classical music with performances by Dmitri Shostakovich 

with his own Preludes “performed by the author”, 

and leading performers from the Bolshoi Theatre and Ballet 

including Samuil Samosud and Olga Lepeshinskaya.

Held at Kuibyshev, now Samara, the Soviet “reserve” or alternate capital 

during the Moscow crisis of autumn 1941, 

with foreign missions and government functions moved there as German forces approached Moscow

The major performers featured in the programme were evacuated to Kuibyshev from the State Order of Lenin Academic Bolshoi Theatre of the USSR and include:

• Dmitri Shostakovich — listed as performing his own Preludes
• Samuil Samosud — major Soviet conductor
• Lev Oborin — celebrated pianist and Chopin Competition winner
• Valeria Barsova — renowned Bolshoi soprano
• Alexander Pirogov — major Bolshoi bass
• Sulamith Messerer — important Bolshoi ballerina and ballet teacher
• Asaf Messerer — major Bolshoi dancer and choreographer
• Olga Lepeshinskaya — Stalin Prize-winning Soviet ballerina
• Rina Zelenaya — well-known Soviet stage and screen performer

A full transcription in Russian together with English translation is available on request. Please message me for this and any other details. 

See also the close-up scan of performance No.1 on page 3 (after the interval) which shows:

• ШОСТАКОВИЧ — Прелюды
  
• Shostakovich — Preludes
  
• Исполняет автор — лауреат Сталинской премии
  
• Performed by the author — Stalin Prize laureate
  

The concert was a two-part gala performance combining:

• Soviet patriotic music
• opera arias
• ballet excerpts
• piano solos
• Russian folk songs
• dramatic recitations
• children’s choir and dance performances
• Bolshoi Theatre orchestra and choir performances

Works include pieces by or after Shostakovich, Glinka, Chopin, Liszt, Dvořák, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Rossini, Bizet, Minkus, Blanter, Dunayevsky and others.

Original limited-run (1500) wartime paper programme in a printed card cover, with age-related wear, including age toning, light marks, a little spotting and crease to the top of page 3/4. 

Size 26 x 20 cm. 4pp. Please study the scans, as they form part of the description.

Carefully packed for safe shipping, including insurance.