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Dmitri Shostakovich in 1942
Dmitri Shostakovich in 1942

Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich listen (help·info) (Russian: Дмитрий Дмитриевич Шостакович) (September 25 [O.S. September 12] 1906 – August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Events 303 - On a voyage preaching the Gospel, Saint Fermin of Pamplona is beheaded in Amiens, France Old Style (or OS) and New Style (or NS) are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Events 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991

After a period influenced by Prokofiev and Stravinsky (Symphony No. 1), Shostakovich embraced the modernist aesthetic (Symphony No. 2 and The Nose) before developing a hybrid of styles with Lady Macbeth and the withdrawn Fourth Symphony. Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (Серге́й Серге́евич Проко́фьев Sergéj Sergéjevič Prokófjev) ( - 5 March 1953 was a Russian composer who Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский) ( &ndash 6 April 1971 was a Russian born Composer, considered by many to The Symphony No 1 in F minor (Opus 10 by Dmitri Shostakovich was written between 1924 and 1925 and first performed in Saint Petersburg by the Leningrad Philharmonic Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No 2 in B major, Opus 14 and subtitled To October, for the 10th anniversary of the October Revolution. The Nose ( Нос, Nos in Transliteration) is a satirical Opera by Dmitri Shostakovich to a Russian Libretto Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (Леди Макбет Мценского уезда in Russian Ledi Makbet Mtsenskogo Uyezda in Transliteration) Dmitri Shostakovich composed his Symphony No 4 in C minor, Opus 43 between September 1935 and May 1936 Shostakovich's hybrid style juxtaposed a wide variety of trends within a single work, such as the neo-classical style (showing the influence of Stravinsky) and a form of post-romantic style (after Mahler). Neoclassicism in music was a 20th century development particularly popular in the period between the two World Wars in which composers drew inspiration from music of the 18th century His unique approach to tonality involved the use of modal scales and some astringent neo-classical harmonies à la Hindemith and Prokofiev. Paul Hindemith (16 November 1895 &ndash 28 December 1963 was a German Composer, Violist, violinist teacher music theorist and conductor. His music frequently includes sharp contrasts and elements of the grotesque. When used in conversation grotesque commonly means strange fantastic ugly or bizarre and thus is often used to describe weird shapes and distorted forms such as Halloween

Shostakovich prided himself on his orchestration, which is clear, economical, and well-projected. This aspect of Shostakovich's technique owes more to Gustav Mahler than Rimsky-Korsakov. Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov ( Николай Андреевич Римский-Корсаков, Nikolaj Andreevič Rimskij-Korsakov) also Nikolay His most popular works are his 15 symphonies and 15 string quartets. A symphony is a Musical composition, often extended and usually for Orchestra. A string quartet is a Musical ensemble of four String instruments &mdash usually two Violins a Viola and Cello &mdash or a piece His works for piano include 2 piano sonatas, an early set of preludes, and a later set of 24 preludes and fugues. A prelude is a short piece of Music, which its form will vary from piece to piece In Music, a fugue (ˈfjuːg is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred Other works include two operas, six concertos, and a substantial quantity of film music. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto The term Concerto (plural concertos or concerti) usually refers to a three part musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an Orchestra A film score is a broad term referring to the music in a film which is generally categorically separated from songs used within a film

Shostakovich had a complex and difficult relationship with the Soviet government, suffering two official denunciations of his music, in 1936 and 1948, and the periodic banning of his work. Events January 4 - Billboard magazine publishes its first music Hit parade March 28 - Inaugurational Events Aldeburgh Festival is founded by Benjamin Britten, Eric Crozier and Peter Pears. At the same time, he received a number of accolades and state awards and served in the Supreme Soviet. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR (Верхо́вный Сове́т СССР Verkhóvnyj Sovét SSSR) was the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union in Despite the official controversy, his works were popular and well liked; he is now held to be, as Grove's judges him, the most talented Soviet composer of his generation. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an Encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians [1]

David Fanning concludes in Grove that, "Amid the conflicting pressures of official requirements, the mass suffering of his fellow countrymen, and his personal ideals of humanitarian and public service, he succeeded in forging a musical language of colossal emotional power. "[2] Shostakovich is now regarded as "the most popular composer of serious art music of the middle years of the 20th century". [3]

Contents

Life

Birthplace of Shostakovich (now School no. 267). Commemorative plaque at left.
Birthplace of Shostakovich (now School no. 267). Commemorative plaque at left.

Early life

Born at 2 Podolskaya Ulitsa in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Shostakovich was the second of three children born to Dmitri Boleslavovich Shostakovich and Sofiya Vasilievna Kokoulina. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Though the Shostakovich family (originally Szostakowicz) was of Polish Roman Catholic heritage, his immediate forebears came from Siberia. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving His paternal grandfather, a Polish revolutionary in the January Uprising of 1863-4, had been exiled to Narim (near Tomsk) in 1866 in the crackdown that followed Dmitri Karakozov's assassination attempt on Tsar Alexander II. The January Uprising ( Polish: powstanie styczniowe, Lithuanian: 1863 m Tomsk (Томск is a city on the Tom River in the southwest of Siberian Federal District, Russia, the administrative centre of Dmitry Vladimirovich Karakozov ( Дмитрий Владимирович Каракозов in Russian) ( October 23 Old Style ( November Alexander (Aleksandr II Nikolaevich (Александр II Николаевич ( Moscow, 29 April 1818 – 13 March 1881 in St After the expiration of his term of exile Bolesław Szostakowicz decided to remain in Siberia. He eventually became a successful banker in Irkutsk and raised a large family. Irkutsk (Ирку́тск Эрхүү Erkhüü; Эрхүү Erkhüü) is one of the largest cities in Siberia and the administrative center of His son, Dmitriy Boleslavovich Shostakovich, the composer's father, was born in exile in Narim in 1875 and attended Saint Petersburg University, graduating in 1899 from the faculty of physics and mathematics. Saint Petersburg State University ( Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a Russian federal state-owned higher After graduation, he went to work as an engineer under Dmitriy Mendeleyev at the Bureau of Weights and Measures in Saint Petersburg. Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (sometimes spelled Mendeleyev; Дми́трий Ива́нович Менделе́ев) ( &ndash) was a Russian chemist and In 1903, he married Sofya Vasilyevna Kokoulina, another Siberian transplant to the capital and soon to be the composers mother. Sofya herself was one of six children born to Vasiliy Yakovlevich Kokoulin, a Russian Siberian native. Dmitri Shostakovich's family was politically liberal (one of his uncles was a Bolshevik, but the family also sheltered far-right extremists). Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists ( Большевик Большевист (singular, derived from bolshe, "more" were a faction

He was a child prodigy as both a pianist and composer, his talent becoming apparent after he began piano lessons at the age of eight with his mother. List of child prodigies|Fictional child prodigies A child prodigy is a one who masters one or more skills or arts at an early age A pianist (/'piənɪst/ is a Musician who plays the Piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces play with an ensemble or Orchestra (On several occasions, he displayed a remarkable ability to remember what his mother had played at the previous lesson, and would get "caught in the act" of pretending to read, by playing the previous lesson's music when different music was placed in front of him. )[4] In 1918, he wrote a funeral march in memory of two leaders of the Kadet party, murdered by Bolshevik sailors. The Constitutional Democratic Party ( Constitutional Democrats, formally Party of Popular Freedom, informally Kadets) was a liberal Political The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists ( Большевик Большевист (singular, derived from bolshe, "more" were a faction In 1919, he was allowed to enter the Petrograd Conservatory, then headed by Alexander Glazunov. The NA Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory ( Russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Aleksandr Konstantinovich Glazunov (Александр Константинович Глазунов Aleksandr Konstantinovič Glazunov; Glazounov Glasunow &ndash 21 March However, he suffered for his perceived lack of political zeal, and initially failed his exam in Marxist methodology in 1926. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. His first major musical achievement was the First Symphony (premiered 1926), written as his graduation piece at the age of twenty. The Symphony No 1 in F minor (Opus 10 by Dmitri Shostakovich was written between 1924 and 1925 and first performed in Saint Petersburg by the Leningrad Philharmonic Events May 12 - Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No 1 premiere Leningrad

Shostakovich in 1925
Shostakovich in 1925

After graduation, he initially embarked on a dual career as a concert pianist and composer, but his dry style of playing (Fay comments on his "emotional restraint" and "riveting rhythmic drive") was often unappreciated. He nevertheless won an "honorable mention" at the First Frederic Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1927. After the competition Shostakovich met the conductor Bruno Walter, who was so impressed by the composer's First Symphony that he conducted the Berlin premiere later that year. WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Bruno Walter ( September 15, 1876 &ndash February The Symphony No 1 in F minor (Opus 10 by Dmitri Shostakovich was written between 1924 and 1925 and first performed in Saint Petersburg by the Leningrad Philharmonic Thereafter, Shostakovich concentrated on composition and soon limited performances primarily to those of his own works. In 1927 he wrote his Second Symphony (subtitled To October). Events January 8 - Alban Berg 's Lyric Suite is premiered in Vienna. Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No 2 in B major, Opus 14 and subtitled To October, for the 10th anniversary of the October Revolution. While writing the symphony, he also began his satirical opera The Nose, based on the story by Gogol. Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto The Nose ( Нос, Nos in Transliteration) is a satirical Opera by Dmitri Shostakovich to a Russian Libretto Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (Никола́й Васи́льевич Го́голь Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol;; Микола Васильович Гоголь In 1929, the opera was criticised as "formalist" by RAPM, the Stalinist musicians' organisation, and it opened to generally poor reviews in 1930. Russian formalism was an influential school of literary criticism in Russia from the 1910s to the 1930s Events The BBC Symphony Orchestra is formed Festival Puccini is launched at Torre del Lago.

1927 also marked the beginning of the composer's relationship with Ivan Sollertinsky, who remained his closest friend until the latter's death in 1944. Ivan Ivanovich Sollertinsky ( 1902 - February 11, 1944) was a Russian Polymath of the Soviet period Sollertinsky introduced Shostakovich to the music of Gustav Mahler, which had a strong influence on his music from the Fourth Symphony onwards. Dmitri Shostakovich composed his Symphony No 4 in C minor, Opus 43 between September 1935 and May 1936 1932 saw his open marriage to his first wife, Nina Varzar. Open marriage typically refers to a Marriage in which the partners agree that each may engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without this being regarded as Initial difficulties led to divorce proceedings in 1935, but the couple soon reunited.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s he worked at TRAM, a proletarian youth theatre. Workers' Youth Theatre, also known as TRAM (the Russian acronym for " T eatr RA bochey M olodyozhi" was a Soviet proletarian Although he did little work in this post, it shielded him from ideological attack. Much of this period was spent writing his opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District; it was first performed in 1934 and was immediately successful, both on a popular and official level. Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (Леди Макбет Мценского уезда in Russian Ledi Makbet Mtsenskogo Uyezda in Transliteration) Events March 12 - the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler given the world premiere of Paul Hindemith It was said to be “the result of the general success of Socialist construction, of the correct policy of the Party" and that such an opera “could have been written only by a Soviet composer brought up in the best tradition of Soviet culture. ”[5]

First denunciation

In 1936 Shostakovich fell from grace. The year began with a series of attacks on him in Pravda, in particular an article entitled Muddle Instead of Music. Pravda (Правда "The Truth" was a leading Newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the The campaign, which condemned Lady Macbeth as formalist, "coarse, primitive and vulgar",[6] was thought to have been instigated by Stalin; consequently, commissions began to dry up, and his income fell by about three quarters. Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party The Fourth Symphony entered rehearsals that December, but the political climate made performance impossible. Dmitri Shostakovich composed his Symphony No 4 in C minor, Opus 43 between September 1935 and May 1936 It was not performed until 1961, but Shostakovich did not repudiate the work: it retained its designation as his Fourth Symphony. A piano reduction was published in 1946.

More widely, 1936 marked the beginning of the Great Terror, in which many of the composer's friends and relatives were imprisoned or killed. Great Purge (Большая чистка transliterated Bolshaya chistka) was a series of campaigns of Political repression and Persecution His only consolation in this period was the birth of his daughter Galina in 1936; his son Maxim was born two years later. Maxim Dmitrievich Shostakovich (born Leningrad on May 10, 1938) is a Russian conductor and Pianist.

The composer's response to his denunciation was the Fifth Symphony of 1937, which was, because of its fourth movement, musically more conservative than his earlier works. Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No 5 in D minor, Op 47 between April and July 1937 Events January 21 - Paul Sacher conducts the world premiere of Béla Bartók 's Music for Strings Percussion and Celesta It was a success, and is still one of his most popular works. It was also at this time that Shostakovich composed the first of his string quartets. A string quartet is a Musical ensemble of four String instruments &mdash usually two Violins a Viola and Cello &mdash or a piece His chamber works allowed him to experiment and express ideas which would have been unacceptable in his more public symphonic pieces. Chamber music is a form of Classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber In September 1937, he began to teach composition at the Conservatory, which provided some financial security but interfered with his own creative work.

Wartime propaganda images of Shostakovich as a fire warden reached as far as the American Time magazine.
Wartime propaganda images of Shostakovich as a fire warden reached as far as the American Time magazine. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and

War

After the outbreak of war between Russia and Germany in 1941, Shostakovich initially remained in Leningrad, enduring the siege, during which he wrote the first three movements of his Seventh Symphony (nicknamed Leningrad). The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign The Siege of Leningrad, also known as The Leningrad Blockade ( Russian: блокада Ленинграда ( transliteration: blokada Leningrada Shostakovich]] completed his Symphony No 7 in C major, Op 60 dedicated to the city of Leningrad, on 27 December 1941 He also contributed to propaganda efforts, posing as a fire warden and delivering a radio broadcast to the Soviet people listen (help·info). In October 1941, the composer and his family evacuated to Kuybishev (now Samara), where the symphony was completed. Samara (Сама́ра ( Kuybyshev (ru Ку́йбышев from 1935 to 1990 is one of the largest cities in Russia. It was adopted as a symbol of Russian resistance both in the USSR and in the West.

In spring 1943 the family moved to Moscow. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of Whilst the Seventh Symphony depicts a heroic (and ultimately victorious) struggle against adversity, the Eighth Symphony of that year is perhaps the ultimate in sombre and violent expression within Shostakovich's output, resulting in it being banned until 1956. The Symphony No 8 in C minor (Opus 65 by Dmitri Shostakovich was written in the summer of 1943, and first performed on November 4 of that year by the Leningrad Events The Malt Shop Era Begins With Love Is Strange By Mickey & Sylvia January 1 - Blue Suede Shoes The Ninth Symphony (1945), in contrast, is an ironic Haydnesque parody, which failed to satisfy demands for a "hymn of victory". Symphony No 9 in E flat major Op 70 was composed by Dmitri Shostakovich in 1945 Shostakovich continued to compose chamber music, notably his Second Piano Trio (Op. The Piano Trio No 2 in E minor, Op 67 by Dmitri Shostakovich was written in 1944 and dedicated to the memory of his closest friend Ivan Sollertinsky 67), dedicated to the memory of Sollertinsky, with a bitter-sweet, Jewish-themed totentanz finale. Dance of Death, also variously called Danse Macabre (French Danza Macabra (Italian or Totentanz

Second denunciation

In 1948 Shostakovich, along with many other composers, was again denounced for formalism in the Zhdanov decree. The Zhdanov Doctrine (also called zhdanovism or zhdanovschina, Russian: доктрина Жданова ждановизм ждановщина was a Most of his works were banned, he was forced to publicly repent, and his family had privileges withdrawn. Yuri Lyubimov says that at this time "he waited for his arrest at night out on the landing by the lift, so that at least his family wouldn't be disturbed". Yuri Petrovich Lyubimov (born September 30, 1917 in Yaroslavl) is a Russian stage actor and director associated with the Taganka Theatre [7]

In the next few years his compositions were divided into film music to pay the rent, official works aimed at securing official rehabilitation, and serious works "for the desk drawer". Rehabilitation (реабилитация in the context of Soviet or Russian topics is often a linguistic False cognate used to translate the Russian The latter included the Violin Concerto No. 1 and the song cycle From Jewish Folk Poetry. The Violin Concerto No 1 in A minor Opus 77 was originally written by Dmitri Shostakovich in 1947 - 1948. From Jewish Folk Poetry (opus 79 is a Song cycle for Soprano, Mezzo soprano, Tenor and Piano by Dmitri Shostakovich. The cycle was written at a time when the post-war anti-Semitic campaign was already under way, and Shostakovich had close ties with some of those affected. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility

The restrictions on Shostakovich's music and living arrangements were eased in 1949, in order to secure his participation in a delegation of Soviet notables to the U. S. That year he also wrote his cantata Song of the Forests, which praised Stalin as the "great gardener". A cantata (derived from the Italian word 'cantare' meaning 'to sing' is a vocal composition with an instrumental Accompaniment and often Dmitri Shostakovich composed his Oratorio The Song of the Forests, Op In 1951 the composer was made a deputy to the Supreme Soviet. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR (Верхо́вный Сове́т СССР Verkhóvnyj Sovét SSSR) was the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union in Stalin's death in 1953 was the biggest step towards Shostakovich's official rehabilitation, which was marked by his Tenth Symphony. The Symphony No 10 in E minor (Op 93 by Dmitri Shostakovich was premiered by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Yevgeny Mravinsky on 17 It features a number of musical quotations and codes (notably the DSCH and Elmira motifs), the meaning of which is still debated, whilst the savage second movement is said to be a musical portrait of Stalin himself. DSCH is a musical motif used by the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich to represent himself in the manner of the BACH motif of Johann It ranks alongside the Fifth as one of his most popular works. 1953 also saw a stream of premieres of the "desk drawer" works.

During the forties and fifties Shostakovich had close relationships with two of his pupils: Galina Ustvolskaya and Elmira Nazirova. Galina Ivanovna Ustvolskaya, also Ustwolskaja or Oustvolskaia ( Гали́на Ива́новна Уство́льская, June 17 1919 Petrograd He taught Ustvolskaya from 1937 to 1947. The nature of their relationship is far from clear: Mstislav Rostropovich described it as "tender" and Ustvolskaya claimed in a 1995 interview that she rejected a proposal from him in the fifties. WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich KBE ( Russian: Мстисла́в However, in the same interview, Ustvolskaya's friend, Viktor Suslin, said that she had been "deeply disappointed" in him by the time of her graduation in 1947. The relationship with Nazirova seems to have been one-sided, expressed largely through his letters to her, and can be dated to around 1953 to 1956. In the background to all this remained Shostakovich's first, open marriage to Nina Varzar until her death in 1954. He married his second wife, Komsomol activist Margarita Kainova, in 1956; the couple proved ill-matched, and divorced three years later. Komsomol (Комсомол is a Syllabic abbreviation word from the Russian Kom munisticheskiy So yuz Mol odiozhi (Коммунистический

In 1954, Shostakovich wrote the Festive Overture, opus 96, that was used as the theme music of the 1980 Summer Olympics. The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Moscow in the Soviet [8] In addition his '"Theme from the film 'Pirogov', Opus 76a: Finale" was played as the cauldron was lit at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was an International Multi-sport event which was celebrated Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία

Joining the Party

The year 1960 marked another turning point in Shostakovich's life: his joining of the Communist Party. This event has been interpreted variously as a show of commitment, a mark of cowardice, or as the result of political pressure. On the one hand, the apparat was undoubtedly less repressive than it had been prior to Stalin's death. Apparatchik ( Russian: аппара́тчик plural apparatchiki) is a Russian colloquial term for a full-time professional Functionary On the other, his son recalled that the event reduced Shostakovich to tears,[9] and he later told his wife Irina that he had been blackmailed. [10] Lev Lebedinsky has said that the composer was suicidal. Lev Lebedinsky (1904-1992 was a Russian Musicologist. He is perhaps most well known today as a friend and oft-quoted confidant of composer Dmitry Shostakovich [11] Around this time, his health also began to deteriorate. Shostakovich's musical response to these personal crises was the Eighth String Quartet, which like the Tenth Symphony, incorporates quotations and his musical monogram. Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No 8 in C minor (Op 110 was written in three days (July 12&ndash14 1960

In 1962 he married for the third time, to Irina Supinskaya. In a letter to his friend Isaak Glikman, he wrote, "her only defect is that she is 27 years old. In all other respects she is splendid: clever, cheerful, straightforward and very likeable. "[12] In November Shostakovich made his only venture into conducting, conducting a couple of his own works in Gorky: otherwise he declined to conduct, citing nerves and ill health as his reasons. Conducting is the act of directing a Musical performance by way of visible gestures Nizhny Novgorod (Ни́жний Но́вгород Nižnij Novgorod) colloquially shortened as Nizhny, is the fourth largest city in Russia

That year saw Shostakovich again turn to the subject of anti-Semitism in his Thirteenth Symphony (subtitled Babi Yar). The Symphony No 13 in B flat minor (Op 113 subtitled Babi Yar) by Dmitri Shostakovich was first performed in Moscow on December 18 1962 by See #Other memorials below for the Babi Yar Memorial Park in Denver Colorado USA The symphony sets a number of poems by Yevgeny Yevtushenko, the first of which commemorates a massacre of the Jews during the Second World War. Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko (Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Евтуше́нко (born July 18, 1933) is a Russian poet PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Opinions are divided as to how great a risk this was: the poem had been published in Soviet media, and was not banned, but it remained controversial. After the symphony's premiere, Yevtushenko was forced to add a stanza to his poem which said that Russians and Ukrainians had died alongside the Jews at Babi Yar.

In 1965 Shostakovich raised his voice in defense of poet Joseph Brodsky, who was unfairly sentenced to five years of exile and hard labor. Joseph Brodsky ( May 24, 1940 — January 28, 1996) born Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (Иосиф Александрович Бродский Shostakovich co-signed protests together with Yevtushenko and fellow Soviet artists Kornei Chukovsky, Anna Akhmatova, Samuil Marshak, and the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky (Корней Иванович Чуковский March 31 NS 1882 - October 28 1969) was one of Anna Akhmatova (А́нна Ахма́това real name А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко ( — March 5 1966 was the Pen name of Anna Andreevna Gorenko Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak ( - June 4 1964) was a Russian writer translator and children's poet Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (21 June 1905 &ndash 15 April 1980 commonly known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (ʒɑ̃ pol saʁtʁə was a French After the protests Brodsky's sentence was commuted, and Brodsky returned to Leningrad. At that time Shostakovich joined the group of 25 distinguished intellectuals in signing the letter to Leonid Brezhnev asking not to rehabilitate Stalin.

Later life

In later life, Shostakovich suffered from chronic ill health, but he resisted giving up cigarettes and vodka. Vodka is one of the world's most popular Distilled beverages It is a clear liquid which consists of mostly Water and Ethanol purified by Distillation From 1958 he suffered from a debilitating condition which particularly affected his right hand, eventually forcing him to give up piano playing: in 1965 this was diagnosed as polio. Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral Infectious disease spread from person to person primarily via He also suffered heart attacks the following year and again in 1971, and several falls in which he broke both his legs; in 1967 he wrote in a letter:

"Target achieved so far: 75% (right leg broken, left leg broken, right hand defective. Myocardial infarction ( MI or AMI for acute myocardial infarction) also known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood supply All I need to do now is wreck the left hand and then 100% of my extremities will be out of order. )"[13]

A preoccupation with his own mortality permeates much of Shostakovich's later works, among them the later quartets and the Fourteenth Symphony of 1969 (a song cycle based on a number of poems concerning the theme of death). The Symphony No 14 (Opus 135 by Dmitri Shostakovich was completed in the spring of 1969, and was premiered later that year The subject matter of this work also coincides with Shostakovich at his most extreme in terms of musical language, with twelve-note themes being used throughout as well as dense polyphony. Shostakovich dedicated this score to his close friend Benjamin Britten, who conducted its Western premiere at the 1970 Aldeburgh Festival. Edward Benjamin Britten Baron Britten, OM CH (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976 was an English Composer, conductor, The Aldeburgh Festival is an English Arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. The Fifteenth Symphony of 1971 is, by contrast, melodic and retrospective in nature, quoting from Wagner, Rossini and the composer's own Fourth Symphony. The Symphony No 15 in A major (Opus 141 Dmitri Shostakovich 's last was written in a little over a month during the summer of 1971 in Repino.

A Russian stamp in Shostakovich's memory
A Russian stamp in Shostakovich's memory

Shostakovich died of lung cancer on August 9, 1975 and after a civic funeral was interred in the Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow. Lung cancer is a Disease of uncontrolled Cell growth in tissues of the Lung. Events 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Novodevichy Cemetery (Новоде́вичье кла́дбище Novodevichye kladbishche is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia, situated next to the Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of The official obituary did not appear in Pravda until three days after his death, apparently because the wording had to be approved at the highest level, by Brezhnev and the rest of the Politburo. Pravda (Правда "The Truth" was a leading Newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the The Politburo ( in Russian: Политбюро, full Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, abbreviated [14] Even before his death he had been commemorated in the naming of the Shostakovich Peninsula on Alexander Island, Antarctica. Alexander Island or Alexander I Island or Alexander I Land or Alexander Land or Alexander The First Island or Isla Alejandro I

He was outlived by his third wife Irina, his daughter Galina, and his son Maxim, a pianist and conductor who was the dedicatee and first performer of some of his father's works. Maxim Dmitrievich Shostakovich (born Leningrad on May 10, 1938) is a Russian conductor and Pianist. Shostakovich himself left behind several recordings of his own piano works, while other noted interpreters of his music include his friends Emil Gilels, Mstislav Rostropovich, Tatiana Nikolayeva, Maria Yudina, David Oistrakh and members of the Beethoven Quartet. Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (Эми́ль Григо́рьевич Ги́лельс ru-Latn Emi'li Grego'rievič Gi'lelis; October 19 1916 – October WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich KBE ( Russian: Мстисла́в Tatiana Petrovna Nikolayeva ( Russian: Татьяна Пeтрoвнa Николаева Tat'jana Petrovna Nikolaeva; May 4, 1924 &ndash November Maria Veniaminovna Yudina or Mariya Yudina (Мария Вениаминовна Юдина Marija Veniamnovna Yudina) ( 28 August (O David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (Russian Давид Фёдорович Ойстрах) David Fiodorovič Ojstrah; &ndash October 24, 1974 The Beethoven Quartet ( Струнный квартет имени Бетховена, Strunnyĭ kvartet imeni Betkhovena) was founded between 1922 and 1923 by graduates

Shostakovich's musical influence on later composers outside the former Soviet Union has been relatively slight, although Alfred Schnittke has taken up his eclecticism, and his contrasts between the dynamic and the static, and some of André Previn's music shows clear links to Shostakovich's style of orchestration. Alfred Garyevich Schnittke (Альфре́д Га́рриевич Шни́тке November 24, 1934 Engels - August 3, 1998 Hamburg WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> André Previn ( Andreas Ludwig Priwin) KBE (b His influence can also be seen in some Nordic composers, such as Kalevi Aho[15] and Lars-Erik Larsson. Kalevi Aho (born 9 March 1949 in Forssa, Finland) is a Finnish Composer. Lars-Erik Vilner Larsson ( 15 May, 1908 - 27 December, 1986) was an important Swedish composer of the 20th century [16] Many of his Russian contemporaries, and his pupils at the Leningrad Conservatory, however, were strongly influenced by his style (including German Okunev, Boris Tishchenko, whose 5th Symphony of 1978 is dedicated to Shostakovich's memory, Sergei Slonimsky, and others). The NA Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory ( Russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени German Grigoryevich Okunev (b Leningrad 12 June 1931, d Leningrad 12 June 1973) was a Soviet Russian Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko ( Russian: Бори́с Ива́нович Ти́щенко born March 23, Sergei Mikhailovich Slonimsky ( Russian: Серге́й Миха́йлович Слони́мский born August 12, 1932, Leningrad) is Shostakovich's conservative idiom has nonetheless grown increasingly popular with audiences both within and beyond Russia, as the avant-garde has declined in influence and debate about his political views has developed. According to Grove, he has now become "the most popular composer of serious art music of the middle years of the 20th century". [3]

Works

For a complete list, see List of compositions by Dmitri Shostakovich. This is a list of compositions by Dmitri Shostakovich. By genre Symphonies Opus 10 Symphony No See also: Category:Compositions by Dmitri Shostakovich (thematical selection of works by Shostakovich).

Shostakovich's works are broadly tonal and in the Romantic tradition, but with elements of atonality and chromaticism. Tonality is a system of Music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center" or tonic. Romantic Music is a Musicological term referring to a particular period theory compositional practice and canon in European music history from about 1815 to 1910 Atonality in its broadest sense describes Music that lacks a tonal center, or key. The chromatic scale is a Musical scale with twelve pitches each a Semitone or Half step apart In some of his later works (e. g. the Twelfth Quartet), he made use of tone rows. Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No 12 in D flat major (Op In Music, a tone row or note row ( German: Reihe or Tonreihe) also series and set, refers to a non-repetitive His output is dominated by his cycles of symphonies and string quartets, fifteen of each. The symphonies are distributed fairly evenly throughout his career, while the quartets are concentrated towards the latter part. Among the most popular are the Fifth, Seventh and Tenth Symphonies and the Eighth and Fifteenth Quartets. Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No 5 in D minor, Op 47 between April and July 1937 Shostakovich]] completed his Symphony No 7 in C major, Op 60 dedicated to the city of Leningrad, on 27 December 1941 The Symphony No 10 in E minor (Op 93 by Dmitri Shostakovich was premiered by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Yevgeny Mravinsky on 17 Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No 8 in C minor (Op 110 was written in three days (July 12&ndash14 1960 The String Quartet No 15 in E flat minor ( opus 144 was Dmitri Shostakovich 's last quartet. Other works include the operas Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, The Nose and the unfinished The Gamblers based on the comedy of Nikolai Gogol; six concertos (two each for piano, violin and cello); two piano trios; and a large quantity of film music. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (Леди Макбет Мценского уезда in Russian Ledi Makbet Mtsenskogo Uyezda in Transliteration) The Nose ( Нос, Nos in Transliteration) is a satirical Opera by Dmitri Shostakovich to a Russian Libretto Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (Никола́й Васи́льевич Го́голь Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol;; Микола Васильович Гоголь

Shostakovich's music shows the influence of many of the composers he most admired: Bach in his fugues and passacaglias; Beethoven in the late quartets; Mahler in the symphonies and Berg in his use of musical codes and quotations. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section.2 This article is written in British English including maximised use of "-ise" In Music, a fugue (ˈfjuːg is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred A passacaglia is a short usually slow and often grave musical work in any metre Ludwig van Beethoven ( English ˈlʊdvɪg væn ˈbeɪtoʊvən, 16 December 1770 &ndash 26 March 1827 was a German Composer and Pianist. In Music, a quartet (quatuor Quartett quartetto cuarteto is a method of instrumentation (or a medium used to perform a musical composition and consisting of four parts Alban Maria Johannes Berg (February 9 1885 &ndash December 24 1935 was an Austrian Composer. Among Russian composers, he particularly admired Modest Mussorgsky, whose operas Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina he re-orchestrated; Mussorgsky's influence is most prominent in the wintry scenes of Lady Macbeth and the Eleventh Symphony, as well as in his satirical works such as "Rayok". Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (Моде́ст Петро́вич Му́соргский Modest Petrovič Musorgskij) ( March 21 March 9 1839 &ndash March Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto Boris Godunov ( Борис Годунов, original Orthography Борисъ Годуновъ, Borís Godunóv) is an Opera by For the 1960 Soviet film based on this opera see Khovanshchina (film. Orchestration is the study or practice of writing Music for Orchestra (or more loosely for any Musical ensemble) or of adapting for orchestra music composed Rayok (opus 78B also known as Anti-formalist Rayok, Little Paradise, The Peep-show (see Rayok) The Gods and A Learner's Manual [17] Prokofiev's influence is most apparent in the earlier piano works, such as the first sonata and first concerto. Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (Серге́й Серге́евич Проко́фьев Sergéj Sergéjevič Prokófjev) ( - 5 March 1953 was a Russian composer who The Concerto in C minor for Piano Trumpet and String Orchestra, Op [18] The influence of Russian church and folk music is very evident in his works for unaccompanied choir of the 1950s.

Shostakovich's relationship with Stravinsky was profoundly ambivalent; as he wrote to Glikman, "Stravinsky the composer I worship. Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский) ( &ndash 6 April 1971 was a Russian born Composer, considered by many to Stravinsky the thinker I despise". [19] He was particularly enamoured of the Symphony of Psalms, presenting a copy of his own piano version of it to Stravinsky when the latter visited the USSR in 1962. The Symphony of Psalms by Igor Stravinsky was written in 1930 and was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston (The meeting of the two composers was not a great success, however; observers commented on Shostakovich's extreme nervousness and Stravinsky's "cruelty" towards him. )[20]

Many commentators have noted the disjunction between the experimental works before the 1936 denunciation and the more conservative ones which followed; the composer told Flora Litvinova, "without 'Party guidance' … I would have displayed more brilliance, used more sarcasm, I could have revealed my ideas openly instead of having to resort to camouflage". [21] Articles published by Shostakovich in 1934 and 1935 cited Berg, Schoenberg, Krenek, Hindemith, "and especially Stravinsky" among his influences. Alban Maria Johannes Berg (February 9 1885 &ndash December 24 1935 was an Austrian Composer. Arnold Schoenberg ( pronounced ˈʃøːnbɛrk (13 September 1874 &ndash 13 July 1951 was an Austrian and later American Composer, associated with Ernst Krenek ( August 23 1900 &ndash December 22 1991) was an Austrian born (and from 1945 an American) Composer Paul Hindemith (16 November 1895 &ndash 28 December 1963 was a German Composer, Violist, violinist teacher music theorist and conductor. [22] Key works of the earlier period are the First Symphony, which combined the academicism of the conservatory with his progressive inclinations; The Nose ("The most uncompromisingly modernist of all his stage-works"[23] listen (help·info)); Lady Macbeth, which precipitated the denunciation; and the Fourth Symphony, described by Grove as "a colossal synthesis of Shostakovich's musical development to date". The Symphony No 1 in F minor (Opus 10 by Dmitri Shostakovich was written between 1924 and 1925 and first performed in Saint Petersburg by the Leningrad Philharmonic The Nose ( Нос, Nos in Transliteration) is a satirical Opera by Dmitri Shostakovich to a Russian Libretto Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (Леди Макбет Мценского уезда in Russian Ledi Makbet Mtsenskogo Uyezda in Transliteration) Dmitri Shostakovich composed his Symphony No 4 in C minor, Opus 43 between September 1935 and May 1936 [24] The Fourth Symphony was also the first in which the influence of Mahler came to the fore, prefiguring the route Shostakovich was to take to secure his rehabilitation, while he himself admitted that the preceding two were his least successful. [25]

In the years after 1936, Shostakovich's symphonic works were outwardly musically conservative, regardless of any subversive political content. During this time he turned increasingly to chamber works, a field which permitted the composer to explore different and often darker ideas that did not, however, invite external scrutiny. Chamber music is a form of Classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber [26] While his chamber works were largely tonal, they gave Shostakovich an outlet for sombre reflection which was not welcomed in his more public works. This is most apparent in the late chamber works, which portray what Groves has described as a "world of purgatorial numbness";[3] in some of these he included the use of tone rows, although he treated these as melodic themes rather than serially. See also Intermediate state Limbo|Heaven|Sheol|Hades in Christianity|Hell in Christianity Purgatory, in the original sense is the condition or process of purification In Music, a tone row or note row ( German: Reihe or Tonreihe) also series and set, refers to a non-repetitive In Music, serialism is a technique for composition that uses sets to describe musical elements, and allows the manipulation of those Vocal works are also a prominent feature of his late output, setting texts often concerned with love, death and art.

Criticism

One prominent criticism of Shostakovich has been that his symphonic work in particular is, as Shostakovich scholar Gerard McBurney summarizes, "derivative … trashy, empty and second-hand". [27] Modern composers have also been critical. Pierre Boulez dismissed Shostakovich's music as "the second, or even third pressing of Mahler". WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Pierre Boulez (pjɛʁ buˈlɛz (b [28] The Romanian composer and Webern disciple Philip Gershkovich called Shostakovich "a hack in a trance". WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Anton Webern (December 3 1883 &ndash September 15 1945 was an Austrian Composer Philipp Herschkowitz (Filip Herşcovici Russian: Филипп Гершкович Filipp Gershkovich) ( September 7, 1906 &ndash January [29] A related complaint is that Shostakovich's style is vulgar and strident: Stravinsky wrote of Lady Macbeth: "brutally hammering … and monotonous. Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский) ( &ndash 6 April 1971 was a Russian born Composer, considered by many to Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (Леди Макбет Мценского уезда in Russian Ledi Makbet Mtsenskogo Uyezda in Transliteration) "[30] English composer and musicologist Robin Holloway described his music as "battleship-grey in melody and harmony, factory-functional in structure; in content all rhetoric and coercion. Robin Greville Holloway (born 19 October, 1943 in Leamington Spa) is an English Composer. "[31]

It is certainly true that Shostakovich borrows extensively from the material and styles both of earlier composers and of popular music; the vulgarity of "low" music is a notable influence on this "greatest of eclectics". Popular music is Music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more [32] McBurney traces this to the avant-garde artistic circles of the early Soviet period among which Shostakovich moved early in his career, and argues that these borrowings were a deliberate technique to allow him to create "patterns of contrast, repetition, exaggeration" which gave his music the large-scale structure it required. Avant-garde (avɑ̃gaʁd in French) means "advance guard" or "vanguard [33]

The Trotskyist theoretician Alan Woods puts much of this criticism down to anti-communist politicking and the professional jealousy of less accomplished composers, pointing out that Shostakovich "made no secret of his debt to Mahler and many other composers: Bach, Stravinsky, jazz and popular music, Jewish and Russian folk music. Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Alan Woods (born in Swansea, Wales in 1944) is a Trotskyist politician and writer Anti-communism refers to opposition to Communism. Historically the word "communism" has been used to refer to several types of communal social organization and But was the music of Beethoven not rooted in the music of Mozart and Haydn? Of course it was. But did it not evolve into something entirely different - something that is unmistakably Beethoven? Of course, it did. And who can deny that the symphonies of Shostakovich, taking their starting point from Mahler, developed into an entirely different musical idiom that is unmistakably Shostakovich and nobody else but Shostakovich?"[34]

Personality

Shostakovich with close friend Ivan Sollertinsky
Shostakovich with close friend Ivan Sollertinsky

Shostakovich was in many ways an obsessive man: according to his daughter he was "obsessed with cleanliness";[35] he synchronised the clocks in his apartment; he regularly sent cards to himself to test how well the postal service was working. Ivan Ivanovich Sollertinsky ( 1902 - February 11, 1944) was a Russian Polymath of the Soviet period Wilson's Shostakovich: A Life Remembered indexes 26 references to his nervousness. Even as a young man, Mikhail Druskin remembers that the composer was "fragile and nervously agile". [36] Yuri Lyubimov comments, "The fact that he was more vulnerable and receptive than other people was no doubt an important feature of his genius". [37] In later life, Krzysztof Meyer recalled, "his face was a bag of tics and grimaces". Krzysztof Meyer (born August 11, 1943 in Cracow, Poland) is a Polish Composer. [38] In his lighter moods, sport was one of his main recreations, although he preferred spectating or umpiring to participating (he was a qualified football referee). Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered A referee presides over a game of Association football. The referee has "full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which His favourite football club was Zenit Leningrad, which he would watch regularly. [39] He also enjoyed playing card games, particularly Patience. A card game is any Game using Playing cards either traditional or game-specific Solitaire, also called patience, is any of a family of single-player Card games of a generally similar character but varying greatly in detail Both light and dark sides of his character were evident in his fondness for satirical writers such as Gogol, Chekhov and Mikhail Zoshchenko. Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (Никола́й Васи́льевич Го́голь Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol;; Микола Васильович Гоголь Anton Pavlovich Chekhov ( –) (Анто́н Па́влович Че́хов) was a Russian short-story writer and Playwright, considered to be one Mikhail Mikhailovich Zoshchenko (Михаил Михайлович Зощенко, Saint Petersburg – July 22, 1958, Leningrad) was the foremost The influence of the latter in particular is evident in his letters, which include wry parodies of Soviet officialese. Due to the relationship between a Creole language and its superstrate language that is a language that is very closely related and whose speakers assert social political and economic Zoshchenko himself noted the contradictions in the composer's character: "he is … frail, fragile, withdrawn, an infinitely direct, pure child … [but he is also] hard, acid, extremely intelligent, strong perhaps, despotic and not altogether good-natured (although cerebrally good-natured)". [40]

He was diffident by nature: Flora Litvinova has said he was "completely incapable of saying 'No' to anybody". [41] This meant he was easily persuaded to sign official statements, including a denunciation of Andrei Sakharov in 1973; on the other hand he was willing to try to help constituents in his capacities as chairman of the Composers' Union and Deputy to the Supreme Soviet. Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (Андре́й Дми́триевич Са́харов (May 21 1921 – December 14 1989 was an eminent Soviet nuclear Physicist The Supreme Soviet of the USSR (Верхо́вный Сове́т СССР Verkhóvnyj Sovét SSSR) was the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union in Oleg Prokofiev commented that "he tried to help so many people that … less and less attention was paid to his pleas". [42]

Shostakovich represented himself in some works with the DSCH motif, consisting of D-E♭-C-B.
Shostakovich represented himself in some works with the DSCH motif, consisting of D-E♭-C-B. DSCH is a musical motif used by the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich to represent himself in the manner of the BACH motif of Johann

Orthodoxy and revisionism

Main article: Testimony (book)

Shostakovich's response to official criticism and, more importantly, the question of whether he used music as a kind of abstract dissidence is a matter of dispute. Testimony is a book (ISBN 0-87910-021-4 that was published in October 1979 by the Russian musicologist Solomon Volkov. It is clear that outwardly he conformed to government policies and positions, reading speeches and putting his name to articles expressing the government line. It is also generally agreed that he disliked the regime, a view confirmed by his family, his letters to Isaak Glikman, and the satirical cantata "Rayok", which ridiculed the "anti-formalist" campaign and was kept hidden until after his death. A cantata (derived from the Italian word 'cantare' meaning 'to sing' is a vocal composition with an instrumental Accompaniment and often Rayok (opus 78B also known as Anti-formalist Rayok, Little Paradise, The Peep-show (see Rayok) The Gods and A Learner's Manual

It is also uncertain to what extent Shostakovich expressed his opposition to the state in his music. The revisionist view was put forth by Solomon Volkov in the 1979 book Testimony, which was claimed to be Shostakovich's memoirs dictated to Volkov. For the denial and distortion of well-established historical facts see Historical revisionism (negationism. Solomon Volkov (born 17 April 1944 is a Russian journalist and musicologist. Testimony is a book (ISBN 0-87910-021-4 that was published in October 1979 by the Russian musicologist Solomon Volkov. The book alleged that many of the composer's works contained coded anti-government messages. It is known that he incorporated many quotations and motifs in his work, most notably his signature DSCH theme. In Music, a motif or motive is a perceivable or salient recurring fragment or succession of notes that may be used to construct the entirety or parts DSCH is a musical motif used by the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich to represent himself in the manner of the BACH motif of Johann His longtime collaborator Evgeny Mravinsky said that "Shostakovich very often explained his intentions with very specific images and connotations". Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Mravinsky (Евгений Александрович Мравинский Evgenij Aleksandrovič Mravinskij) ( &ndash 19 January 1988 [43] The revisionist perspective has subsequently been supported by his children, Maxim and Galina, and many Russian musicians. More recently, Volkov has argued that Shostakovich adopted the role of the yurodivy or holy fool in his relations with the government. Foolishness for Christ refers to behavior motivated by real or assumed craziness to serve a religious purpose of Christianity A jester, joker, jokester, fool, wit-cracker, prankster, or buffoon is a member of a profession that came into popularity Shostakovich's widow Irina supports the general revisionist thesis but denies the authenticity of Testimony. Other prominent revisionists are Ian MacDonald, whose book The New Shostakovich put forward more interpretations of his music, and Elizabeth Wilson, whose Shostakovich: A Life Remembered provides testimony from many of the composer's acquaintances. Ian MacCormick ( October 3, 1948 – August 20, 2003) who wrote under the Pseudonym Ian MacDonald, was a British

Tombstone of Shostakovich, showing his D-E♭-C-B motif. Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow.
Tombstone of Shostakovich, showing his D-E♭-C-B motif. Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow. Novodevichy Cemetery (Новоде́вичье кла́дбище Novodevichye kladbishche is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia, situated next to the Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of

Many musicians and scholars (notably Laurel Fay and Richard Taruskin) contest the authenticity (and debate the significance) of Testimony, alleging that Volkov compiled it from a combination of recycled articles, gossip, and possibly some information direct from the composer. Richard Taruskin is an American musicologist music historian and critic who has written about the theory of performance Russian music fifteenth-century music twentieth-century music Fay substantiates these allegations in her 2002 article 'Volkov's Testimony reconsidered', showing that the only pages of the original Testimony manuscript that Shostakovich had signed and verified are in fact word-for-word reproductions of earlier interviews given by the composer, none of which are controversial. More broadly, they argue that the significance of Shostakovich is in his music rather than his life, and that to seek political messages in the music detracts from, rather than enhances, its artistic value.

Recorded legacy

In 1957, during a visit to Paris, Shostakovich recorded his two piano concertos with Andre Cluytens, as well as some short piano works. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city André Cluytens ( March 26, 1905 - June 3, 1967) was a Belgian -born French conductor These were issued by EMI on an LP, reissued by Seraphim Records on LP, and eventually digitally remastered and released on CD. The EMI Group is a British music company comprising the major record company EMI Music – which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in Seraphim Records is a sister label of Angel Records. History During the 1960s through the 1980s they were Angel's Shostakovich was also a featured soloist in other recordings; he was the pianist in a CD featuring the Sonata, Op. 40, for Cello and Piano with cellist Daniil Shafran, the Sonata, Op. 134, for Violin and Piano with violinist David Oistrakh, and the Trio, Op. David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (Russian Давид Фёдорович Ойстрах) David Fiodorovič Ojstrah; &ndash October 24, 1974 67, for Violin, Cello, and Piano with violinist David Oistrakh and cellist Milos Sadlo. Relatively few recordings of Shostakovich's piano playing have been released; it is unclear whether there are any recordings of Shostakovich conducting his music.

Awards

Soviet Union

United States

United Kingdom

Austria

Denmark

In popular culture

David Pownall's play Master Class portrays the inquisition of the composers Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev by Joseph Stalin and Andrei Zhdanov in 1948. Hero of Socialist Labor ( Russian: Герой Социалистического Труда Geroy Sotsialisticheskovo Truda) was an honorary title in the Design of the decoration The first design of the Order of Lenin was made of silver with See also Order of Lenin Order of the Red Banner History The Red Banner of Labour began as an order of the Russian SFSR on See also Order of Friendship People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union. The Lenin Prize ( Russian: Ленинская премия was one of the highest awards in the Soviet Union. The USSR State Prize (Госуда́рственная пре́мия СССР was the Soviet Union 's state honour "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. For the 1880 opera on which this film is based see Khovanshchina. The Academy Award for Original Music Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically The 34th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1961, were held on April 9, 1962 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica The Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society formed in 1813 Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich The Léonie Sonning Music Prize, or Sonning Award, which is recognized as Denmark 's highest musical honor is given annually to an international Musician David Pownall (born 1938 is a critically acclaimed and prize-winning author of plays novels and short stories Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (Серге́й Серге́евич Проко́фьев Sergéj Sergéjevič Prokófjev) ( - 5 March 1953 was a Russian composer who Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov (Андре́й Алекса́ндрович Жда́нов ( Mariupol', &ndash August 31, 1948 The dictator orders the artists to compose music that is in line with Party policy.

The novel Europe Central, by William T. Vollman, contains a semi-fictional love triangle between Shostakovich, filmmaker Roman Karmen, and Elena Konstantinovskaya. Europe Central is a 2005 National Book Award -winning novel by William T William Tanner Vollmann (born July 28, 1959 in Los Angeles California) is an American Novelist Journalist, Short A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a Film. Roman Lazarevich Karmen (Роман Лазаревич Кармен ( 16 November 1906 Odessa – 28 April 1978 Moscow)

The "Waltz 2" from Suite for Variety Stage Orchestra is featured in Stanley Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut (for years misidentified as the composer's Jazz Suite 2). The Suite for Variety Stage Orchestra is a suite in eight movements by Dmitri Shostakovich. Eyes Wide Shut is a 1999 drama - mystery directed produced and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, based on the Novella The Suite for Jazz Orchestra No 2 is a composition by Dmitri Shostakovich.

A rendition of the "Second Waltz" by popular violinist Andre Rieu was a Top Ten ranking single in Holland in 1995. André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (born October 1, 1949) is a Dutch Violinist, conductor, and Composer. [44] It's still a favourite crowd sing-along at Rieu concerts. Several performance videos can currently (2008) be viewed on Youtube. YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload view and share Video clips YouTube was created in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees

Notes

  1. ^ Grove, p. 294, 301.
  2. ^ Grove p. 280.
  3. ^ a b c Grove p. 300.
  4. ^ Laurel Fay, Shostakovich: A Life p. 9
  5. ^ Dmitrii Shostakovich, Shostakovich: About Himself and His Times, compiled by L. Grigoryev and Ya. Platek, trans. Angus and Neilian Roxburgh (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1981), 33.
  6. ^ McBurney, p. 287.
  7. ^ Elizabeth Wilson, Shostakovich: A Life Remembered p. 183.
  8. ^ 1980 Summer Olympics Official Report from the Organizing Committee, vol. 2 (pdf) 283. Retrieved on 2007-10-16. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western 40-megabyte document.
  9. ^ Ho and Feofanov, p. 390.
  10. ^ Manashir Yakubov, programme notes for the 1998 Shostakovich seasons at the Barbican, London). Barbican Centre is the largest Performing arts centre in Europe London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.
  11. ^ Wilson p. 340.
  12. ^ Dmitri Shostakovich and Isaak Glikman, Story of a Friendship: The Letters of Dmitry Shostakovich to Isaak Glikman p. 102.
  13. ^ Glikman p. 147.
  14. ^ Volkov, Solomon. Obituary Came Three Days Late. Moscow News N49 2005. Retrieved on 23 December 2005. Events 962 - Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
  15. ^ Finnish Music Information Centre. Kalevi Aho in Profile. Retrieved on 18 November 2005. Events 326 - The old St Peter's Basilica is consecrated 1302 - Pope Boniface VIII issues the Papal bull Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
  16. ^ Musicweb International. Lars-Erik Larsson. Retrieved on 18 November 2005. Events 326 - The old St Peter's Basilica is consecrated 1302 - Pope Boniface VIII issues the Papal bull Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
  17. ^ Fay pp. 119, 165, 224.
  18. ^ Grove pp. 288, 290.
  19. ^ Glikman p. 181.
  20. ^ Wilson pp. 375–377.
  21. ^ Wilson p. 426.
  22. ^ Fay p. 88.
  23. ^ Grove p. 289.
  24. ^ Grove p. 290.
  25. ^ Glikman p. 315.
  26. ^ See also Grove p. 294.
  27. ^ McBurney, p. 283.
  28. ^ McBurney, p. 288.
  29. ^ McBurney, p. 290.
  30. ^ McBurney, p. 286.
  31. ^ Holloway, Robin. "Shostakovich horrors". The Spectator, August 26, 2000. Events 1071 - Battle of Manzikert: The Seljuk Turks defeat the Byzantine Army at Manzikert. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Available at Find articles. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces
  32. ^ Haas, Shostakovich's Eighth: C minor Symphony against the Grain p. 125.
  33. ^ Gerard McBurney, op cit.
  34. ^ Woods, Alan. "Shostakovich, the musical conscience of the Russian Revolution – Part Two". In Defence of Marxism, 22 December 2006. Events 1790 - The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Retrieved on 2008-04-23. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 215 BC - A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at
  35. ^ Michael Ardov,Memories of Shostakovich p. 139.
  36. ^ Wilson pp. 41–45.
  37. ^ Wilson p. 183.
  38. ^ Wilson p. 462.
  39. ^ Mentioned in his personal correspondance (Shostakovich, tr. Phillips (2001)), as well as other sources.
  40. ^ Quoted in Fay, p. 121.
  41. ^ Wilson p. 162.
  42. ^ Wilson p. 40.
  43. ^ Wilson p. 139.
  44. ^ Musicianguide. com Andre Rieu Retrieved on 24 December 2007. Events 563 - The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is dedicated for the second time after being destroyed by Earthquakes Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

References

External links


Persondata
NAME Shostakovich, Dmitri
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Russian: Дмитрий Дмитриевич Шостакович, Dmitrij Dmitrievič Šostakovič
SHORT DESCRIPTION Russian composer
DATE OF BIRTH 25 September 1906(1906-09-25)
PLACE OF BIRTH Saint Petersburg, Russia
DATE OF DEATH 9 August 1975
PLACE OF DEATH Moscow, USSR

The Nose ( Нос, Nos in Transliteration) is a satirical Opera by Dmitri Shostakovich to a Russian Libretto The Weekly Worker is a weekly Newspaper published by the Communist Party of Great Britain (Provisional Central Committee. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages The Russian people (Русские— Russkie) are an East Slavic Ethnic group, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Events 303 - On a voyage preaching the Gospel, Saint Fermin of Pamplona is beheaded in Amiens, France Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Events 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991
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