Symphony No. 4 in C minor , Opus 43 , between September 1935 and May 1936 , after abandoning some preliminary sketch material . In January 1936 , halfway through this period , '' Pravda '' — under direct orders from Joseph Stalin — published an editorial " Muddle Instead of Music " that denounced the composer and targeted his opera '' Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk '' . Despite this attack , and despite the oppressive political climate of the time , Shostakovich completed the symphony and planned its premiere for December 1936 in Leningrad . After rehearsals began , the orchestra 's management cancelled the performance , offering a statement that Shostakovich had withdrawn the work . He may have agreed to withdraw it to relieve orchestra officials of responsibility . The symphony was premiered on 30 December 1961 by the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra led by Kirill Kondrashin
oppressive political climate of the time
Great Purge
Symphony No. 4 (Shostakovich)