The Starving Orchestra of Leningrad
How a ragtag band of half-dead Russian musicians flipped off the Nazis
9 min readJul 27, 2020
On the last note of the symphony, the audience stood up and broke into a roar of applause: a standing ovation that lasted an hour. The chandeliers were sparkling above the heads of the elegantly dressed attendees, many of whom were in tears; a little girl came up from the audience with…
