'A terrifying and unhappy book...' The Guardian This astounding self-portrait covering the whole of Shostakovich's life (1906-1975) was prepared in collaboration with the distinguished Soviet musicologist Solomon Volkov. With the composer's consent, the manuscript was smuggled out of Soviet Russia - but Shostakovich, fearing reprisals, stipulated that the book should not appear until after his death. Ever since its publication in 1979 it has been the subject of controversy, some suggesting that Volkov invented parts of it, but most affirming that it revealed a profoundly ambivalent Shostakovich which the world had never seen before - his life at once triumphant and tragic. Either way, it remains indispensible to an understanding of Shostakovich's life and work. Testimony is intense and fiercely ironic, both plain-spoken and outspoken.

A group of resourceful kids start "solution-seekers.com," a website where "cybervisitors" can get answers to questions that trouble them. But when one questioner asks the true meaning of Christmas, the kids seek to unravel the mystery by journeying back through the prophecies of the Old Testament. What they find is a series of "S" words that reveal a "spectacular story!" With creative characters, humorous dialogue and great music, The "S" Files is a children's Christmas musical your kids will love performing.

Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the San Francisco Symphony for this performance of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, which was originally broadcast by the American television channel PBS in 2009 as part of the 'Keeping Score' classical music series.

Russia's Borodin String Quartet performs Tchaikovsky's String Quartet No. 1 in D major and String Quartet No. 2 in F major, as well as Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 3 in F major and String Quartet No. 8 in C minor in this recording from 1987.

Andris Nelsons conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in this performance of Shostakovich's Symphony No.8, recorded live at the Lucerne Festival in 2011.