This hall is inextricably linked to the great composer Dmitri Shostakovich, after whom it was named. His 7th Symphony was played at the height of the siege of Leningrad in 1942 and broadcast throughout the country, becoming a symbol of the struggle for freedom and belief in victory. After hosting concerts by the most famous musicians in the world (Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, Wagner), the Hall of Columns remains one of the country's leading concert halls.