The story of Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) during the Siege of Leningrad is fascinating history. To get a quick, concise overview of this native Leningrader and top classical composer, please see the following from Wikipedia's public offering on Shostakovich:

"In 1939, before Soviet forces attempted to invade Finland, the Party Secretary of Leningrad Andrei Zhdanov commissioned a celebratory piece from Shostakovich, the Suite on Finnish Themes, to be performed as the marching bands of the Red Army paraded through Helsinki. The Winter War was a bitter experience for the Red Army, the parade never happened, and Shostakovich never laid claim to the authorship of this work.[51] It was not performed until 2001.[52] After the outbreak of war between the Soviet Union and Germany in 1941, Shostakovich initially remained in Leningrad. He tried to enlist in the military but was turned away because of his poor eyesight. To compensate, he became a volunteer for the Leningrad Conservatory's firefighter brigade and delivered a radio broadcast to the Soviet people. audio speaker iconlisten (help·info) The photograph for which he posed was published in newspapers throughout the country.[53]

His most famous wartime contribution was the Seventh Symphony. The composer wrote the first three movements in Leningrad and completed the work in Kuybyshev (now Samara), where he and his family had been evacuated. It remains unclear whether Shostakovich really conceived the idea of the symphony with the siege of Leningrad in mind. It was officially claimed as a representation of the people of Leningrad's brave resistance to the German invaders and an authentic piece of patriotic art at a time when morale needed boosting. The symphony was first premiered by the Bolshoi Theatre orchestra in Kuibyshev and was soon performed abroad in London and the United States. It was subsequently performed in Leningrad while the city was still under siege. The orchestra had only 14 musicians left, so the conductor Karl Eliasberg was forced to recruit anyone who could play an instrument as reinforcements.[54]"

Complete webpage from Wikipedia: Dmitri Shostakovich - Wikipedia

Note: there are many websites offering different perspectives on Shostakovich. He is best appreciated through music applications such as SiriusXM, Spotify, etc.