When I heard this I was left wondering if you'd heard the same amusing anecdote about Shostakovich that I'd first heard in my university days. Stalin and Shostakovich obviously had no love for each other, and so as the story goes, Stalin asked Shostakovich to do something impossible in order to give him an excuse to deport him to Siberia - compose a new symphony for a state occasion with a day's notice. Knowing this was impossible, Shostakovich was completely frantic. In desperation, he asked his trusted copyist to run down to the library, find a symphony by an obscure composer no one had ever heard of before, and transcribe it backwards. The faithful copyist obliged.
The next day, a smug Shostakovich sat in the audience awaiting the premiere of his "new work." Imagine his horror when the orchestra began playing the opening of Beethoven's 5th symphony...
Now, amusing as it is, of course the anecdote falls apart as soon as it mentions Stalin looking for a reason to deport someone. He never needed a reason for anything.