Music: Boston in Russia

There were cheering crowds and welcoming broadcasts for the arriving travelers. The Boston Symphony Orchestra came to Leningrad last week—the first Western symphony to appear in the Soviet Union. Every Leningrader with enough influence to get his hands on a ticket (12-40 rubles — $3-$10) or enough money to pay scalpers' prices (hundreds of rubles) was inside the gold, ivory and plush Philharmonia Hall. Thousands of others heard the music over the radio.

French-born Conductor Charles Munch, his thick, white hair flying in the musical breeze, led his crew through Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony,...