"Music in War- From Rebellion to Patriotism" Topic

"The Morse code for the letter V corresponds to the first four opening notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. In a twist of poetic irony, the Allied powers used this code, inspired by a German composer, as a symbol of resistance against the Germans during World War II. The dot-dot-dot-dash thus became a musical motif and radio stations started their broadcasts with the famous sound of fate knocking at the door.

As Shakespeare might have said, what's in a few musical notes? Apparently quite a lot. The power of music is so feared by authoritarian regimes that they censor artistic expression. Mao's China outright banned the arts that did not serve the ideological needs of the state. In the Soviet Union, censors had to approve all music for publication. Music has long been an avenue for profound expression of resistance during wartime.

In 1942, Shostakovich premiered his Seventh Symphony during the Siege of Leningrad. Forsaken by the state and under siege from Germany, people of Leningrad (today, St. Petersburg) cooked leather for food, hunted cats and dogs, and died of starvation, but they still turned to music. In that moment, music became a powerful symbol of resistance. It gave hope and uplifted the morale of the besieged and served as an act of defiance against the besiegers…"
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