Boston Symphony Is Up For Grammy Awards For Their Shostakovich Symphonies — Again

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is up for two Grammy Awards Sunday, including Best Orchestral Performance, for their record “Shostakovich Symphonies No. 4 & 11.” The album is the latest installment in conductor Andris Nelsons and the BSO's complete Shostakovich symphony cycle.

Two of their other recordings of symphonies by the Russian composer won Grammy Awards in 2016 and 2017.

Dmitri Shostakovich was composing in the Soviet Union where, at first, he was regarded as a great hope for communist art, until Joseph Stalin objected to one of his works. He continued to compose under fear of his life.

While his music remained popular and some critics say they hear in his work a critique of life under political oppression.

So, what is it about his music that is still resonating today?

Anne Shreffler, historical musicologist and a professor of music at Harvard University.