Humanitarian space of Samara/Kuibyshev: time and place of D. Shostakovich

It is recognized that the premiere of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, whose preparation in 1941-1942 was extremenly difficult, represented a great personal and artistic achievement. Modern scholarly publications also add that Kuibyshev hosted perhaps its largest PR proiect of the twentieth century, which captured the attention of the entire world, including America, England, Sweden and other allied countries. Other outstanding works by Shostakovich also belong to the Kuibyshev period but they are poorly represented in Samara’s cultural memory. Their multi-dimensionality, ahead of their time, could enrich the city’s humanitarian space. The article also describes the presentation of the almanac «Samara’s Homage. Shostakovich-100 years» in Bonn, at the Russian Consulate General, on May 8, 2006. In conclusion, the authors cite the testimony of the writer Chingis Aitmatov about Shostakovich’s global thinking, addressed to the future.