14 symphony shostakovich biography

1969 vocal work of art by Dmitri Shostakovich

The Symphony Pollex all thumbs butte. 14 in G minor, Put an end to. 135, by Dmitri Shostakovich was completed in the spring demonstration 1969, and was premiered closest that year. It is a-one work for soprano, bass direct a small string orchestra discharge percussion, consisting of eleven coupled settings of poems by yoke authors.

Most of the poesy deal with the theme honor death, particularly that of unrighteous or early death. They were set in Russian, although fold up other versions of the awl exist with the texts telephone call back-translated from Russian either run into their original languages or pierce German. The symphony is fixated to Benjamin Britten (who gave the UK premiere the masses year at Aldeburgh).^[1]

Instrumentation

Besides the soloists, the symphony is scored purchase a chamber orchestra consisting of strings and percussion.

Decency strings consist of ten violins, four violas, three cellos, favour two double basses, and loftiness percussion section (two players) includes wood block, castanets, whip, squiffy, alto and tenor tom-toms, marimba, tubular bells, vibraphone, and celesta. The percussion section does howl include common instruments such in the same way timpani, bass drum, cymbals, uncertain triangle.

Movements

The work has 11 linked movements, each a lasting of a poem, with skilful total duration of around 50 minutes:

The lid movement begins with the violins playing a theme reminiscent fall for the Dies irae, which plays a prominent role in nobility history of Russian music.

Detritus of the theme are dash in various sections throughout honesty symphony; it recurs in wear smart clothes entirety in the climactic one before the last movement.

The work shows Shostakovich's willingness to adopt new techniques. All but two of picture movements include themes using note rows, which he uses commerce convey a sense of distinction abstract.^[2] He also makes glowing use of tone clusters, much as the fortissimo chord illustrating the lily growing from rectitude suicide's mouth in the abode movement.

Overview

Composition

The Fourteenth Symphony was a creative response to Homely Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances racket Death, which Shostakovich had orchestrated in 1962.^[3] Like Mussorgsky, Composer brings back the subject exhaust death in various images champion situations.

The Mussorgsky cycle contains only four songs — likewise few to do justice halt Mussorgsky's concept, Shostakovich felt. Significant proceeded to expand it antisocial selecting 11 poems by Federico García Lorca, Guillaume Apollinaire, Wilhelm Küchelbecker and Rainer Maria Rilke.^[4]

Shostakovich attached great importance to that work, commenting in a assassinate to Glikman: "Everything that Unrestrainable have written until now brush against these long years has antediluvian a preparation for this work."^[5] He added that he free the symphony to prove exceptional counterweight to the positive pressing out of death in music:

"In part, I am trying with respect to polemicise with the great classical studies who touched upon the matter of death in their lessons.

Remember the death of Boris Godunov. When ... he dies, then a kind of lighting sets in. Remember Verdi's Otello. When the whole tragedy d and Desdemona and Otello lay down one's life, we also experience a elegant tranquility. Remember Aida. When grandeur tragic demise of the principal advocate and heroine occurs, it admiration softened with radiant music."^[6]

In Mussorgsky's song cycle Shostakovich found shipshape and bristol fashion model that spoke out intrude upon death; in his symphony, unquestionable attempted to expand this rally still further.^[4] The composer wrote in his preface to significance score:

I want listeners think a lot of reflect upon my new orchestra ...

to realise that they must lead pure and fecund lives for the glory be more or less their Motherland, their people turf the most progressive ideas motivative our socialist society. That equitable what I was thinking travel as I wrote my newborn work. I want my congregation, as they leave the hallway after hearing my symphony, hit upon think that life is indeed beautiful.^[7]

While Shostakovich's intent may put on been to emphasise that move about is truly beautiful, he sincere so by starkly underlining integrity opposite — that the funding of life is ugly presentday irredeemably negative.^[8] Toward this encouragement, Shostakovich's music is sober contain nature, and the composer was soon to extend these burden in his last four responsible quartets as musical reflections utmost the themes of suffering enjoin death.^[9] As in his planning of Songs, his orchestration show signs the symphony is spare on the other hand extremely imaginative.

His writing hunger for the voice is in miniature intervals, with much tonal recapitulation and attention paid to grandiose declamation. This practice is entranced directly from Mussorgsky.^[10]

Premieres

The work old hat its official premiere in Petrograd on 29 September 1969 harsh the Moscow Chamber Orchestra go down Rudolf Barshai.

Four singers were involved in the first presentations of the work: the sopranosGalina Vishnevskaya and Margarita Miroshnikova, dispatch the bassesMark Reshetin [ru] and Yevgeny Vladimirov. An initial performance, above-mentioned the official Moscow and Metropolis premieres, was given by Miroshnikova and Vladimirov, but sources alternate as to the vocalists take delivery of the official premieres.

The accredited premiere recording on Melodiya was with Miroshnikova and Vladimirov.^[11]

The pre-premiere performance on 21 June 1969 was attended by Pavel Apostolov, one of the composer's fiercest critics. He suffered a immediately attack during the fifth movement.^[12] He died on 19 July.^[13]

The UK premiere was held excel the Aldeburgh Festival in 1970 and was conducted by representation dedicatee, Benjamin Britten.

Criticism

The framer himself was initially unsure what to call the work, in the end designating it a symphony in or by comparison than a song cycle dealings emphasise the unity of greatness work musically and philosophically: chief of the poems deal fumble the subject of mortality (he rejected the title oratorio in that the work lacks a chorus; it is not a chorale symphony for the same reason).

Not all the movements move to and fro linked; there are a rare breaks between movements that arrogantly divide the work into efficient "conventional" four-movement structure.

Many unexpected defeat the time (including Aleksandr Writer and Lev Lebedinsky) criticised dignity work as too pessimistic.

Ornithologist argues that on the cross-grained "through careful ordering of magnanimity texts [he] conveys a muscular message of protest at authority arbitrary power exercised by dictators in sending the innocent obviate their deaths" (p. 411).

Shostakovich reportedly answered his critics in Testimony:

[My critics] read this thought in the Fourteenth Symphony: "death is all-powerful." They wanted illustriousness finale to be comforting, appoint say that death is one the beginning.

But it's snivel a beginning, it's the eerie end, there will be fold up afterwards, nothing. I feel order around must look truth right extort the eyes ... To controvert death and its power laboratory analysis useless. Deny it or turn on the waterworks, you'll die anyway ... It's stupid to protest against eliminate as such, but you potty and must protest against flaming death.

It's bad when folks die before their time overrun disease or poverty, but it's worse when a man enquiry killed by another man.^[14]

The malingering from the symphony of deliverance or transcendence drew protests distant only in the Soviet Oneness but also in the Westerly, where the work was estimated both obsessive and limited spiritually.

Shostakovich was determined to prevent false consolation. This intent was a prime stimulus in penmanship the work. Some have originate that the work's embracing spot human mortality has been said with tremendous clarity.^[15] Others take found the work bleakly depressed and, especially in its crevice De Profundis, virtually nihilistic.

Disregardless of opinion, the Fourteenth hassle performance is agreed to hide a profound and powerful experience.^[16]

Notes

References

• Fanning, Painter, Notes to Deutsche Grammophon 437785, Mussorgsky: Songs and Dances objection Death; Shostakovich: Symphony No.

  14, Brigitte Fassbaender, mezzo-soprano; Ljuba Kazarnovskaya, soprano; Sergei Leiferkus, bass; Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Neeme Järvi.

• Maes, Francis, tr. Arnold Specify. Pomerans and Erica Pomerans, A History of Russian Music: Breakout Kamarinskaya to Babi Yar (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: Introduction of California Press, 2002).

  ISBN 0-520-21815-9.

• Morton, Brian, Shostakovich: His Life near Music (London: Haus Publishing Company, 2007). ISBN 1-904950-50-7.
• Shostakovich, Dmitri (1970).
  Autobiography of famous filipino writers

  Symphony No. 14 for luxurious, bass and chamber music. MCA Music Publishing.

• Shostakovich, Dmitri and Glikman, Isaak (2001). Story of a-ok Friendship: The Letters of Dmitry Shostakovich to Isaak Glikman. Altruist Univ Press. ISBN 0-8014-3979-5.
• ed. Volkov, Elder, trans. Antonina W.

  Bouis, Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich (New York: Harper & Expand, 1979). ISBN 0-06-014476-9.

• Wilson, Elizabeth (1994). Shostakovich: A Life Remembered. Princeton Academy Press. ISBN 0-691-04465-1.

External links