Cocktail Party Fact: Dmitri Shostakovich produced a series of mildly modernist works which Stalin took a disliking to. Fearing for his life (this was during the purges of the 1930s), Shostakovich composed this work, which he called “A Soviet artist’s reply to just criticism.”

Attention Factor: About 45 minutes.

Vital Statistics: Modern Period. A symphony in four movements. Shostakovich’s most popular work, and perhaps the premiere example of what used to be called “socialist realism” (i.e., modern in spirit, but filled with tunes Stalin can whistle).

What to Listen For: The symphony opens with an ascending two-note motto that haunts the first movement. Note the brutal march episode, that starts with horns and then trumpets snarling at the very bottom of their registers, and culminates in a full-scale jack-booted invasion. Shostakovich turns the sarcasm up so high in the waltz-scherzo it’s a wonder the authorities let him get away with it. If it catches you in the right mood, it can make you laugh out loud. By contrast, the slow movement is an inconsolable lament. The finale begins with struggle and ends with victorious rejoicing; but after Stalin was safely dead and buried, Shostakovich declared that he’d meant the rejoicing to sound forced, as if a crowd of frightened people were all shouting, “Our business is rejoicing! Our business is rejoicing!” You decide.