Russian composer-Shostakovich's epic Seventh Symphony (Leningrad) was written during World War II and dedicated to the composer's native city. It stands as a proclamation of heroic strength and a symbol of courage, defiance, and projected victory in the face of insuperable odds.

Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3 is chosen to serve as the opener for this concert . The overture preceded the first performance of Beethoven's opera Fidelio (1805), whose subjects, like Shostakovich's symphony, are defiance in the face of oppression and the overthrow of tyranny. One writer aptly called it "the grandest overture ever written."