DIMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH the man Dates:1906 - 1975Nationality:RussianSome background details: Dimitri Shostakovich was born in St. Petersburg, which at the time was the arts capital of Russia. His musical talent as a child prodigy pianist and composer was recognized early on, and at the age of j ust 13 he enrolled at the Conservatory. However, in his 3 rd year, just before he was about to study full-time, his father died. A year later, Shostakovich himself was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and he remained often in poor health throughout the rest of his life. His mother was a highly accomplished pianist, and after she lost her job in 1924, he decided to go to work playing the piano at a local cinema accompanyin g the films but hated it! It was during this time that he composed his first symphony, which he eventually submitted as his graduation piece. I t brought instant success and recognition, and the Soviet authorities held the young composer to their hearts as t he beacon of Soviet art. Shostakovich was to be the first Russian composer of international repute to emerge as a product of the musical culture during the period of the Soviet Union, but throughout his musical career he had a very difficult relationship with the Soviet g overnment. Vladimir Lenin(1870 1924) was a Russian revolutionary and communist politician who became the first head of the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic. At that time, the Soviet cultural bureau was keen to set new trends, and they recognised that Shostakovich could be used as a valuable political tool. They commissioned him to write works for the concert hall and stage, and promoted him abroad as the leading representative of Soviet art. However, by the early 1930s, certain aspects of his musical sty le (e.g. the dissonant harmo nies, avant-garde forms and sardonic idioms) brought him into disfavour with a government then headed by Joseph Stalin (1878 1953). He experienced the first of his setbacks with the authorities when his opera The Nose was
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5/13/2018 Ngfl Dimitri Shostakovich Background Information - slidepdf.com
Some background details: Dimitri Shostakovich was born in St. Petersburg, which at the
time was the arts capital of Russia. His musical talent as a child prodigy pianist and composer
was recognized early on, and at the age of just 13 he enrolled at the Conservatory. However, in
his 3rd
year, just before he was about to study full-time, his father died. A year later,
Shostakovich himself was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and he remained often in poor health
throughout the rest of his life. His mother was a highly accomplished pianist, and after she lost
her job in 1924, he decided to go to work playing the piano at a local cinema accompanying the
films but hated it! It was during this time that he composed his first symphony, which he
eventually submitted as his graduation piece. It brought instant success and recognition, and
the Soviet authorities held the young composer to their hearts as the beacon of Soviet art.
Shostakovich was to be the first Russian composer of international repute to emerge as a
product of the musical culture during the period of the Soviet Union, but throughout his
musical career he had a very difficult relationship with the Soviet government. Vladimir Lenin
(1870 1924) was a Russian revolutionary and communist politician who became the first head
of the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic. At that time, the Soviet cultural bureau was keen to setnew trends, and they recognised that Shostakovich could be used as a valuable political tool.
They commissioned him to write works for the concert hall and stage, and promoted him
abroad as the leading representative of Soviet art. However, by the early 1930s, certain aspects
of his musical style (e.g. the dissonant harmonies, avant-garde forms and sardonic idioms)
brought him into disfavour with a government then headed by Joseph Stalin (1878 1953). He
experienced the first of his setbacks with the authorities when his opera The Nose was
5/13/2018 Ngfl Dimitri Shostakovich Background Information - slidepdf.com
The frequent changes of official attitude to Shostakovichs music were very interesting and
clearly had an effect on the composers output. Indeed, it is probably fair to say that few major
composers have been so uneven in their production! Shostakovich has his followers who
describe his music as vital, spontaneous and powerful; but he also has critics who describe hiswork as synthetic and commonplace.
His output is extensive:
o 15 symphonies (perhaps his most important compositions),
o 15 string quartets,
o various chamber works,
o 6 concertos for various instruments,
o song cycles,
o
solo piano pieces,o some cantatas and oratorios
o 2 operas (and an operetta),
o ballets,
o 36 film scores and incidental music for 11 plays
o Some orchestral suites (taken from his other pieces).
DIMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH - general compositional style
As a composer, Shostakovich worked with both the old and the new. He was -
rooted in tradition and tonality, yet using dissonance and occasional atonality as expressive
means without adhering to any traditional school (Grove)
He combined elements of the classical and romantic eras, and also used comedy, sarcasm and
irony; his individuality grew out of the contrast between an almost sentimental lyricism and a
vigorous, grotesque dissonant wit. At times, his work reflected a variety of trends (e.g. both
neo-classical, and post-romantic), with a bias towards a simple symphonic idiom.
Shostakovich was a symphonist first and dramatist next. His art derived from the language of
instruments as he wrote with imagination and understanding for the orchestra. It is alsoimportant to remember that his music drew on the circumstances of his personal life and his
country.
Shostakovich was influenced by: Bach, Russian traditions from Glinka to Stravinsky, Hindemith,
Mahler, Berg and modernism, neo-classicism, popular music including jazz - and folk
traditions.
5/13/2018 Ngfl Dimitri Shostakovich Background Information - slidepdf.com
Particular features of compositional interest in the eighth quartet:
1. A collage of quotations
This quartet is very rich in subtext and cryptographic reference. It has often been described as
autobiographical in nature. The quotes were not there simply to save time and effort; but the
re-crafting and incorporation of this significant material into a new composition was the
challenge. Throughout the quartet, each one of the quotations is introduced by the DSCH motif,and there is a chronological perspective. The composer seems to be looking back on his life,
older, sadder and wiser, as each of the pieces he quotes holds memories of such difficult times
for him (even though they were all great successes for him at their first performances). At
times, as in the inclusion of the quote of the cello concerto in movement IV, the transformation
is quite brutal.
In addition to the regular inclusion of the DSCH motto, several themes from other works
Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra No. 1, Op. 107
Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 67,
The Young Guard, Op. 75a (No. 6)
Katerinas Seryoscha, My Love from Act IV of Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk
District, Op. 29.
It is worth noting that the work also includes an allusion to both the second theme from
Tchaikovskys Symphony No. 6, Op. 74 (first movement) and the Funeral March from Wagners
Götterdämmerung. In addition, he quotes from a revolutionary song in movement IV. As this
song was an emblem of the soviet Tzarist past, Shostakovich seems to be identifying with thevictims in his own country.
2. Use of the DSCH motif
The first solemn notes heard unaccompanied on the cello in movement I are Shostakovichs
personal four note musical signature. In the German transliteration of the Cyrillic alphabet, his
initials come out as DSCH. For reasons that go way back - in German, E¨ is spelt Es, Bª is their H,
and their B is our B¨. Bach famously introduced his monogram B¨-A-C-Bª into the incomplete
final contrapunctus of The Art of Fugue. (Many later composers pay tribute to it). Bach was animportant influence on Shostakovich, and not just in the use of this motto idea, as he also
adopted contrapuntal ideas and textures as found in much of Bachs work. In the same way as
Bach, Shostakovich was able to spell the German form of his initials in music and he did!
In doing so, he nearly always uses the narrowest pitch range, i.e. from the B up to E¨, as seen in
the opening bars of the quartet:
5/13/2018 Ngfl Dimitri Shostakovich Background Information - slidepdf.com
movement follows on without a break; also the last 3 movements are linked by a note in violin
1 held on from the previous movement). Movements I, IV and V are all LARGO. The germinal
idea throughout is the DSCH motto, and because of the collage-type structure, the detailed
analysis concentrates on mainly melodic matters. Sometimes the melodic lines follow aspects
of fugal convention and imitation, but they are not always reinforced by conventional
harmonies in the way we would perhaps expect.
Movement ILargo
C minor
This is quite like a prelude in character. It has a fugal opening, but neverbecomes a fully fledged fugue! Instead of sustained contrapuntal workings, it
gives way to a self-quotation, then to quasi-vocal solos over long pedal points
which are quite arioso-like. Note the DSCH motif and variants of it; it is very
meditative, and perhaps not what you would expect from the first movement
of a string quartet!
Movement II
All egr o mol to
G# minor
A violent movement, and in a remote key (a semitone above the dominant).
It is an extreme contrast to the first movement and is a more straight-