Composer of Soviet Russia

Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich was born today in 1906. He is a somewhat eclectic composer, having started out by borrowing from many other styles, such as Mahler, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Hindemith, etc., but also clearly influenced by Bach and Beethoven. When I first heard his music, I couldn't identify it. I learned to always guess that if I couldn't tell who the composer was (and it sounded late-romantic to modern), it was probably Shostakovich. His style grew and became very much his own, however, turning into one of the most popular composers of the middle-20th century.

Shostakovich stayed in Soviet Russia his whole life, and his already nervous character was not helped much by the official denunciations of the Soviet party on two occasions. He was also given awards by the Soviets at other times. His was a difficult life, trying to please, but also inwardly in turmoil about joining the party and giving into their pressure.

His music is very unique and interesting, though I am only beginning to really get into it. Here are a few pieces I have enjoyed.

Piano Concerto No. 1 (1933) - an interesting piece, also featuring a trumpet in a kind of supporting role. Here is a pretty wild excerpt of the young composer himself playing the final cadenza and finale of the last movement of the piece. Shostakovich usually played his own works very fast and apparently said once "let's play fast so the audience doesn't get bored". When asked why he would speed up, ignoring his own metronome markings, he said something like "my metronome at home doesn't work anyway, so let's just ignore those markings!"

Piano Concerto No. 2 (1957) - a very cheerful piece, more-so than most of his other works. The first movement was introduced to me when I watched Fantasia 2000 for the first time - it is played to the visual of the Steadfast Tin Soldier, and fits so well, it almost seems like the piece was written for Disney!

Piano Quintet in G minor (1940) - one of his best known and loved chamber works. I had the good fortune to perform this in college. It is a monumental work, full of intense passion, brooding introspection, tenderness, and both vulgar and lighthearted humor. It is in 5 movements. The first movement begins with the piano, building to an intense interaction between the strings, then dies down again and becomes more brisk, only to build and slow down to more intensity. It leads into the second movement, a very beautiful, introspective fugue starting with the violins, then cello, then viola, then finally piano. This is one of the most moving (and yet intellectually satisfying) pieces in the modern literature! It gets very dissonant and intense before calming down again and disappearing quietly. The third movement is all fun and games - racuous melodies, confusing rhythms, ironic and full of humor - lots of fun to play! The fourth movement is more steady, introspective, tinged with sadness and regret. It leads directly into the fifth movement as out of darkness into the light - a quietly contented, cheerful, and later, joyous and downright triumphant movement. The ending is so carefree and refreshing after all the preceding intensity. A real treasure!

It also had real impact on the people during the time it was written. Apparently the following quote is from Rostislav Dubinsky, violinist of the Borodin Quartet, out of his book, Not By Music Alone: "For a time the Quintet overshadowed even such events as the football matches between the main teams. The Quintet was discussed in trams, people tried to sing in the streets the second defiant theme of the finale. War that soon started completely changed the life of the country as well as the consciousness of the people. If previously there was the faint hope of a better life, and the hope that the 'sacrifices' of the revolution were not in vain, this hope was never to return. The Quintet remained in the consciousness of the people as the last ray of light before the future sank into a dark gloom."

Shostakovich wrote 15 symphonies as well, the first composer to have broken the "Curse of the 9", which Beethoven started more than a century before (all major symphonists after Beethoven died while writing their 10th symphony, or never got close to 10 symphonies - Schubert, Dvorak, Mahler, Brahms...) I really don't know any of them, so I'm not going to link them here. That's about all I can handle right now...