Dmitry Shostakovich About Iosif Andriasov. “When the entire world lost a sense of harmony, composer Iosif Andriasov has not only not lost this sense, but added to harmony a new quality.” This is what Dmitry Shostakovich said about my father. During the chaotic political times, in combination with an astonishing renaissance in Soviet music, for someone as talented a person as Shostakovich to utter these words about a composer twenty seven years younger is quite incredible. There are several reasons why I write this. 1. For Mr. Shostakovich to see and actually express these thoughts out in public was heroic in many ways. By stating this, he is including the Soviet Union as being a place that has lost harmony. A person of such a magnanimous personality could say such a thing and get away with it. 2. Mr. Shostakovich is taking into account the numerous composers, artists, poets, and all other fields that he had good knowledge of. Can you imagine the wealth of knowledge that this man had? The Soviet schooling system was top notch, focusing on various subjects to broaden the minds of many. 3. Amazingly enough, Dmitry Shostakovich does not put himself with Iosif Andriasov when it comes to adding a quality inside of harmony. Now that takes a person with a high level of modesty to be able to say such a thing. Why am I not surprised? This is the kind of person Dmitry Shostakovich was, modest and humble. He saw that Iosif Andriasov had those same qualities in addition to having a strong moral code. This moral stance would be crucial in many decisions my father would take. Many times, when most people sold their souls for an opportunity given to them (as an example, The Lenin Prize), Iosif Andriasov would always look at the moral perspective and rejected accepting this prize. The famous quote by Mr. Andriasov was: “By accepting a reward from criminals, one becomes an accomplice to the criminals.” The risk taken by Andriasov was huge. It defied anything done previously and put his musical career and life at a potential end. No matter the outcome, which he knew quite well, Iosif Andriasov would never subjugate himself towards accepting a prize from an evil from any country. An incredible inner strength of a person that is not fearful or pompous can make such a decision. This is exactly the harmony Mr. Shostakovich was talking about. That is why Shostakovich’s quote holds such gravity. He knew my father could accept it without getting a swelled head. I would like to ask you all to visit this page below. This link includes a list of all Iosif Andriasov music compositions. Inside each piece is information about the composition and a YouTube link.