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Dmitry Shostakovich
September 25, 1906 - August 9, 1975
born in St. Petersburg, Russia, composed during the Modern period
born in St. Petersburg, Russia, composed during the Modern period
Dmitry Shostakovich was a Russian composer whose symphonies and quartets, numbering 15 each, are among the greatest examples of these classic forms from the twentieth century. His style evolved from the brash humor and experimental character of his first period, exemplified by the operas The Nose and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, into both the more introverted melancholy and nationalistic fervor of his second phase (the Symphonies No. 5 and No. 7, "Leningrad"), and finally into the defiant and bleak mood of his last period (exemplified by the Symphony No. 14 and Quartet No. 15). Early in his career his music showed the influence of Prokofiev and Stravinsky, especially in his prodigious and highly successful First Symphony. He could effectively communicate a melancholic depth and profound sense of anguish, as one hears in many of his symphonies, concertos, and quartets. Solomon Volkov, in his controversial Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich explains the composer's seeming bombast as deft satire of the pomposity of the Soviet state, pointing to the "forced rejoicing" of Fifth Symphony's ending. Typical traits of Shostakovich's style include short reiterated melodic or rhythmic figures, motifs of one or two pitches or intervals, and lugubrious and manic string writing.
Shostakovich was born in St. Petersburg, in 1906, and educated at the Petrograd Conservatory. The acid style of his early Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk irritated Stalin, and Shostakovich was attacked in the Soviet press. Fearing imprisonment, he withdrew his already rehearsed Fourth Symphony; his Fifth Symphony (1937) carried the subtitle "A Soviet Artist's Reply to Just Criticism." It is more ingenious than most critics have fathomed, for it managed to satisfy both the backward tastes of the party censors and those of more demanding aesthetes in the West.
The 1941 German invasion of Russia inspired the composer's Seventh Symphony, subtitled "Leningrad." Impressed by the symphony's epic-heroic character, Toscanini, Koussevitsky, and Stokowski vied for the Western Hemisphere premiere; the score had to be microfilmed, flown to Teheran, driven to Cairo, and flown out. The work became an enormous success the world over, but eventually fell into obscurity. Still, the composer had for a time become a worldwide celebrity, his picture even appearing on the cover of Time.
Shostakovich ran afoul of the government again in 1948, when an infamous decree was issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party accusing Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and other prominent composers of "formalist perversions." For some time he wrote mostly works glorifying Soviet life or history. Artistic repression diminished in post-Stalinist Russia, but curiously Shostakovich still drew in his modernist horns until the Thirteenth Symphony, "Babi Yar," a 1962 work based on poems by Yevgeny Yevtushenko. The work provoked major controversy because of its first movement's subject: Russian oppression of the Jews.
In 1966 Shostakovich wrote his Second Cello Concerto, a work on an even higher level than his solid First, but one which has yet to capture as much attention from either artists or the public. That year, Shostakovich was diagnosed with a serious heart condition. He continued to compose, his works growing more sparsely scored and darker, the subject of death becoming prominent. His Fourteenth Symphony (1969), really a collection of songs on texts by Lorca, Apollinaire, Küchelbecker, and Rilke, is a death-obsessed work of considerable dissonance and showing little regard for the Socialist Realism still demanded by the state. Shostakovich died on August 9, 1975. ~ All Music Guide, Rovi
Shostakovich was born in St. Petersburg, in 1906, and educated at the Petrograd Conservatory. The acid style of his early Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk irritated Stalin, and Shostakovich was attacked in the Soviet press. Fearing imprisonment, he withdrew his already rehearsed Fourth Symphony; his Fifth Symphony (1937) carried the subtitle "A Soviet Artist's Reply to Just Criticism." It is more ingenious than most critics have fathomed, for it managed to satisfy both the backward tastes of the party censors and those of more demanding aesthetes in the West.
The 1941 German invasion of Russia inspired the composer's Seventh Symphony, subtitled "Leningrad." Impressed by the symphony's epic-heroic character, Toscanini, Koussevitsky, and Stokowski vied for the Western Hemisphere premiere; the score had to be microfilmed, flown to Teheran, driven to Cairo, and flown out. The work became an enormous success the world over, but eventually fell into obscurity. Still, the composer had for a time become a worldwide celebrity, his picture even appearing on the cover of Time.
Shostakovich ran afoul of the government again in 1948, when an infamous decree was issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party accusing Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and other prominent composers of "formalist perversions." For some time he wrote mostly works glorifying Soviet life or history. Artistic repression diminished in post-Stalinist Russia, but curiously Shostakovich still drew in his modernist horns until the Thirteenth Symphony, "Babi Yar," a 1962 work based on poems by Yevgeny Yevtushenko. The work provoked major controversy because of its first movement's subject: Russian oppression of the Jews.
In 1966 Shostakovich wrote his Second Cello Concerto, a work on an even higher level than his solid First, but one which has yet to capture as much attention from either artists or the public. That year, Shostakovich was diagnosed with a serious heart condition. He continued to compose, his works growing more sparsely scored and darker, the subject of death becoming prominent. His Fourteenth Symphony (1969), really a collection of songs on texts by Lorca, Apollinaire, Küchelbecker, and Rilke, is a death-obsessed work of considerable dissonance and showing little regard for the Socialist Realism still demanded by the state. Shostakovich died on August 9, 1975. ~ All Music Guide, Rovi
Selected Discography
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Hamlet
Title: Hamlet, Film Score, Op. 116 (unrelated To Incidental Music)
x
Track List: Complete String Quartets
Disc 1
Title: String Quartet No. 1 In C Major, Op. 49
Title: String Quartet No. 2 In A Major, Op. 68
Title: String Quartet No. 3 In F Major, Op. 73
Disc 2
Title: String Quartet No. 4 In D Major, Op. 83
Title: String Quartet No. 5 In B Flat Major, Op. 92
Title: String Quartet No. 6 In G Major, Op. 101
Disc 3
Title: String Quartet No. 7 In F Sharp Minor, Op. 108
Title: String Quartet No. 8 In C Minor, Op. 110
Title: String Quartet No. 9 In E Flat Major, Op. 117
Title: String Quartet No. 10 In A Flat, Op. 118
Disc 4
Title: Movements (2) For String Quartet
Title: String Quartet No. 11 In F Minor, Op. 122
Title: String Quartet No. 12 In D Flat Major, Op. 133
Title: String Quartet No. 13 In B Flat Minor, Op. 138
Disc 5
Title: String Quartet No. 14 In F Sharp Major, Op. 142
Title: String Quartet No. 15 In E Flat Minor, Op. 144
x
Track List: Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No.1, Op. 10/Symphony No.6, Op. 54 - Neeme Jarvi
Title: Symphony No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 10
Title: Symphony No. 6 In B Minor, Op. 54
x
Track List: Plain toe 4 eyelet blucher genuine snake lace oxford features a soft snakeskin leather
Title: Ballet Suite No. 1, For Orchestra (assembled By Atovmyan)
Title: Piano Concerto No. 1, For Piano, Trumpet & Strings, In C Minor, Op. 35
Title: Suite For Jazz Orchestra No. 2
Title: Suite For Jazz Orchestra No. 1
Title: Piano Concerto No. 2 In F Major, Op. 102
Title: Ballet Suite No. 3, For Orchestra (assembled By Atovmyan)
Title: Ballet Suite No. 1, For Orchestra (assembled By Atovmyan)
Title: Ballet Suite No. 2, For Orchestra (assembled By Atovmyan)
Title: Symphony No. 10 In E Minor, Op. 93
Title: Suite For Jazz Orchestra No. 2
x
Track List: Shostakovich: 24 Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87
Disc 1
Title: Preludes & Fugues (24), For Piano, Op. 87
Disc 2
Disc 3
x
Track List: Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87
Disc 1
Disc 2
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Ballet Suites
Disc 1
Title: Ballet Suite No. 1, For Orchestra (assembled By Atovmyan)
Title: Ballet Suite No. 2, For Orchestra (assembled By Atovmyan)
Title: Ballet Suite No. 3, For Orchestra (assembled By Atovmyan)
Title: Festive Overture, For Orchestra In A Major, Op. 96
Disc 2
Title: Ballet Suite No. 4, For Orchestra (assembled By Atovmyan)
Title: The Bolt, Suite From The Ballet, Op. 27a
Title: Katerina Izmaylova, Suite From The Opera, Op. 114a
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No1, Op107; Violin Concerto No1 (Revised), Op99
Title: Violin Concerto No. 1 In A Minor, Op. 77 (published As Op. 99)
Title: Cello Concerto No. 1 In E Flat Major, Op. 107
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Cello Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Title: Cello Concerto No. 2 In G Major, Op. 126
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Complete Concertos
Disc 1
Title: Violin Concerto No. 1 In A Minor, Op. 77 (published As Op. 99)
Title: Violin Concerto No. 2 In C Sharp Minor, Op. 129
Disc 2
Title: Cello Concerto No. 1 In E Flat Major, Op. 107
Title: Cello Concerto No. 2 In G Major, Op. 126
Disc 3
Title: Piano Concerto No. 1, For Piano, Trumpet & Strings, In C Minor, Op. 35
Title: Piano Concerto No. 2 In F Major, Op. 102
Disc 8
x
Track List: Shostakovich: New Babylon
Disc 1
Title: New Babylon (The Assault On Heaven), Film Score For Live Performance With Silent Film, Op. 18
Disc 2
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Jazz Suite No. 1; Tahiti Trot (Tea For Two)
Title: Suite For Jazz Orchestra No. 1
Title: Suite For Jazz Orchestra No. 2
Title: The Gadfly, Suite From The Film Score, Op. 97a (assembled By Atovmyan)
Title: Piano Concerto No. 1, For Piano, Trumpet & Strings, In C Minor, Op. 35
Title: Piano Concerto No. 2 In F Major, Op. 102
Title: The Unforgettable Year 1919, Suite From The Film Score, Op. 89a (assembled By Atovmyan)
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Piano Quintet
Title: Piano Concerto No. 1, For Piano, Trumpet & Strings, In C Minor, Op. 35
Title: Piano Concerto No. 2 In F Major, Op. 102
Title: Quintet For Piano & Strings In G Minor, Op. 57
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Piano Music; Chamber Works
Disc 1
Title: Preludes & Fugues (24), For Piano, Op. 87
Disc 2
Disc 3
Title: Sonata For Piano No. 2 In B Minor, Op. 61
Title: Fantastic Dances (3), For Piano, Op. 5
Title: Preludes (5) For Piano (taken From Op. 2 For Inclusion In Collaborative Work Of 24 Preludes With Clements & Feldt)
Title: Dances Of The Dolls (7), Suite For Piano (arr. From The Ballet Suites For Orchestra)
Title: Aphorisms (10), For Piano, Op. 13
Title: The Age Of Gold, Ballet, Op. 22
Disc 4
Title: Sonata For Piano No. 1 (October Symphony), Op. 12
Title: Preludes (24) For Piano, Op. 34
Title: Piano Trio No. 2 In E Minor, Op. 67
Disc 5
Title: Sonata For Cello & Piano In D Minor, Op. 40
Title: Moderato, For Cello & Piano, Op. 40b (until 1968 Considered To Be Part Of Sonata Op 40)
Title: Pieces (2) For Double String Quartet, Op. 11
Title: Quintet For Piano & Strings In G Minor, Op. 57
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Piano Sonata No. 1; 24 Preludes
Title: Preludes (24) For Piano, Op. 34
Title: Aphorisms (10), For Piano, Op. 13
Title: Sonata For Piano No. 1 (October Symphony), Op. 12
Title: Fantastic Dances (3), For Piano, Op. 5
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 11 & 12 - Hamlet, Etc.
Disc 1
Title: Symphony No. 11 In G Minor, Op. 103 (The Year 1905)
Title: October, Symphonic Poem, Op. 131
Title: Overture On Russian And Khirghiz Folksongs, For Orchestra, Op. 115
Disc 2
Title: Symphony No. 12 In D Minor, Op. 112 (The Year 1917 - In Memory Of Lenin)
Title: Hamlet, Suite From The Incidental Music, Op. 32a (unrelated To Film Score)
Title: The Age Of Gold, Suite From The Ballet, Op. 22a
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14; Six Poems Of Marina Tsvetaeva
Title: Symphony No. 14 For Soprano, Bass, Strings & Percussion, Op. 135
Title: Poems (6) Of Marina Tsvetayeva, For Alto & Piano, Op. 143 (orchestrated As Op 143a)
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15; From Jewish Folk Poetry
Title: Symphony No. 15 In A Major, Op. 141
Title: From Jewish Folk Poetry, Song Cycle For Soloists & Piano, Op. 79 (orchestrated As Op 79a)
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Music from the Film "Hamlet"
Title: Hamlet, Suite From The Film Score, Op.116a (assembled By Atovmyan)
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8
Title: Symphony No. 8 In C Minor, Op. 65 (Stalingrad)
x
Track List: Shostakovich: The Complete Symphonies - Mariss Jansons (10 CD)
Disc 1
Title: Symphony No. 1 In F Minor, Op. 10
Title: Symphony No. 15 In A Major, Op. 141
Disc 2
Title: Symphony No. 2 In B Flat Major (To October), Op. 14
Title: Symphony No. 12 In D Minor, Op. 112 (The Year 1917 - In Memory Of Lenin)
Disc 3
Title: Symphony No. 3 In E Flat Major (The First Of May), Op. 20
Title: Symphony No. 14 For Soprano, Bass, Strings & Percussion, Op. 135
Disc 4
Title: Symphony No. 4 In C Minor, Op. 43
Title: The Gadfly, Suite From The Film Score, Op. 97a (assembled By Atovmyan)
Disc 5
Title: Symphony No. 5 In D Minor, Op. 47
Title: Symphony No. 6 In B Minor, Op. 54
Disc 6
Title: Symphony No. 7 In C Major (Leningrad), Op. 60
Disc 7
Title: Symphony No. 8 In C Minor, Op. 65 (Stalingrad)
Disc 8
Title: Symphony No. 9 In E Flat Major, Op. 70
Title: Symphony No. 10 In E Minor, Op. 93
Disc 9
Title: Symphony No. 11 In G Minor, Op. 103 (The Year 1905)
Title: Suite For Jazz Orchestra No. 1
Title: Suite For Jazz Orchestra No. 2
Title: Tahiti Trot, For Orchestra (arr. Of Youmans "Tea For Two"), Op. 16
Disc 10
Title: Symphony No. 13 In B Flat Minor, Op. 113 (Babi Yar)
x
Track List: Shostakovich: The Jazz Album
Title: Suite For Jazz Orchestra No. 1
Title: Piano Concerto No. 1, For Piano, Trumpet & Strings, In C Minor, Op. 35
Title: Suite For Jazz Orchestra No. 2
Title: Tahiti Trot, For Orchestra (arr. Of Youmans "Tea For Two"), Op. 16
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Violin Concertos No. 1, Op. 99 & No. 2, Op. 129
Title: Violin Concerto No. 1 In A Minor, Op. 77 (published As Op. 99)
Title: Violin Concerto No. 2 In C Sharp Minor, Op. 129
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Title: Violin Concerto No. 1 In A Minor, Op. 77 (published As Op. 99)
Title: Violin Concerto No. 2 In C Sharp Minor, Op. 129
x
Track List: Shostakovich: Violin Sonata; Cello Sonata
Title: Sonata For Cello & Piano In D Minor, Op. 40
Title: Sonata For Violin & Piano, Op. 134
Title: The Gadfly, Film Score, Op. 97
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