Although a slight work from a Western point of view, Shostakovich's Novorossiisk Chimes (The Fire of Eternal Glory) was oneof his best-known works in the U.S.S.R.

Written for the war memorial in Novorossiisk, Shostakovich's work recycles materials he had written in 1943 as his entry in a competition to compose a new Russian national anthem. The work is a brief, solemn celebration of fortitude and heroism which begins with delicate sounds from the celesta and builds to a tremendous climax for full orchestra. A tape of the work has been playing nonstop in the Novorossiisk War Memorial since its installation in 1960, making it possibly the most frequently played pieces of classical music in existence, and the work's opening phrases also served as the introductory music for the late evening news on Moscow Radio for decades.

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