Decomposed

Everybody knows the Beethoven story: He’s a brilliant composer who faced hearing loss; a genius who couldn’t listen to his own masterpieces. But there’s a different way to consider the story we think we know.

Making music under Stalin was a dangerous undertaking — it could end with applause or in a prison camp. In the brutal grip of World War II, Shostakovich composed a symphony so powerful, it was smuggled halfway around the world in order to be played.

This is the story of two letters Tchaikovsky received in the mail. One would lead to his greatest mistake; the other to the most intimate relationship of his life.

Time, Esquire, and IndieWire name Decomposed one of the best podcasts of 2019

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