277
A campaign began against artists
and writers who were not following
the party line. Over the next few
years, this would result in the
deaths of prominent figures, such
as the poet Osip Mandelstam and
the writer Isaac Babel, both critical
of Stalin. Shostakovich himself was
labeled an “enemy of the people,”
and some of his works, including
the opera The Nose (1928) and the
ballet The Limpid Stream (1935),
were banned. Fearing punishment,
he packed a bag and waited for the
secret police to knock on his door.
In the end, Shostakovich was
spared a visit from the police and
went on to complete his next major
work, Symphony No. 4, in May- This is a far cry from his
previous two “revolutionary”
symphonies—a more abstract
work, deeply influenced by Gustav
Mahler, it is over an hour long and
requires a huge orchestra. Like
Mahler’s symphonies, it is a work of
contrasts, setting tradition, in the
form of almost banal dance themes
(including a Viennese waltz and an
Austrian Ländler—a kind of slow
waltz), against more strident,
dissonant music. In the first
movement alone, there are loud
onslaughts of brass, a toccata for
woodwinds, and a fast virtuoso
fugue on the strings. Frightened
that this challenging mix might
offend the authorities, the composer
withdrew the work, which was not
heard in public until 1961.A conflicted symphony
Shostakovich then started from
scratch on what became his
Symphony No. 5. The work, like
its predecessor, features strong
contrasts, but it also contains
engaging melodies. The first main
theme of the opening movement is
a lyrical, sad tune, initially played
softly on the violins. In the middle
of the movement, this gives way to
a grotesque march, which gathers
in pace and volume, sweeping
up the whole orchestra, with loud
contributions from the brass and
a driving beat from the percussion.
The initial, gentle theme returns
and the movement ends quietly
with a violin solo overlaid with
ringing chromatic scales from the
celesta (a keyboard instrument that
sounds like a glockenspiel, used
by Mahler in two symphonies).
The gentle ending of the first
movement contrasts strongly with
the second movement, a scherzo
in the form of a waltz. The third
movement, marked largo, sees a
return to lyrical writing, with long
melodies on the strings creating
a melancholy mood, punctuated
with woodwind solos. The final
movement, on the other hand,
contains a brass-led return to
loud, often aggressive, marchlike
music. The piece rises in volume
to fortissimo (very loud) before it
ends resolutely in the triumphant
major chord of D. ❯❯See also: Pictures at an Exhibition 207 ■ Romeo and Juliet 272 ■
Spartacus 309 ■ Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima 310–311MODERN 1900 –1950
Dmitri Shostakovich
For the precociously talented
Shostakovich, born in
St. Petersburg in 1906, piano
lessons began at the age of
three, and attendance at the
Petrograd Conservatory came
a decade later. His three early
symphonies, written before he
was 33, were well received,
and he returned to the form
after his first two operas were
denounced by the authorities
in the 1930s. He also produced
a series of emotionally intense
string quartets, concertos, and
much theatre and film music.
In 1960, Shostakovich joined
the Communist Party (under
extreme pressure), and around
the same time he contracted
polio and had several heart
attacks. This did not stop him
composing demanding work,
such as Symphony No. 14
(1969). When he died in 1975
Shostakovich was widely
regarded as Russia’s greatest
contemporary composer.Other key works1933 Concerto in C minor for
piano, trumpet, and strings
1943 Symphony No. 8
1953 Symphony No. 10
1960 String Quartet No. 8 (“To
the victims of fascism and war”)If they cut off both hands,
I will compose music
anyway holding the pen
in my teeth.
Dmitri ShostakovichUS_274-279_Shostakovich.indd 277 26/03/18 1:01 PM