Tonic Jukebox History
WEEK 70 - Discovering Dmitri
Every so often I hear a piece on the radio that I like and I find it was written by Dmitri Shostakovich. I must confess to having very little knowledge of the man or his music. So much time is taken up with Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmaninov, et al, and this has left little room for Dmitri. Perhaps, gentle reader, you are the same. So I decided to explore this a bit and make Dmitri our first ‘composer of the week’. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906 – 1975) was a Soviet composer and pianist. He is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century, with a historic importance due to his years of work under Stalin. You may remember we featured a dance from Shostakovich’s opera, The Nose, in week 23. It’s worth another look.
If you would like to find out more try
Wikipedia
ClassicFM article (shorter and better resource)
The Guardian (also interesting)
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906 – 1975) was a Soviet composer and pianist. He is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century, with a historic importance due to his years of work under Stalin. You may remember we featured a dance from Shostakovich’s opera, The Nose, in week 23. It’s worth another look.
If you would like to find out more try
Wikipedia
ClassicFM article (shorter and better resource)
The Guardian (also interesting)
Monday July 12
Festive Overture
The Festive Overture is an orchestral work composed by Dmitri Shostakovich in 1954. Commissioned for the Bolshoi Theatre's celebration of the 37th anniversary of the October Revolution, the score has since become one of the most enduring of Shostakovich's occasional scores.
Recording
Tuesday July 13
Piano Concerto No 2
Piano Concerto No. 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich was composed in 1957 for his son Maxim's 19th birthday.
Today’s choice is the slow second movement. If you enjoy it as much as I did, you might want to continue to the third movement. I have included a link to the full piece as well, which is played by Dmitri himself.
Second movement (7 mins)
(if you wish)
Third movement (6 mins)
or you may prefer
Full piece played by Dmitri himself (18 mins)
Wednesday July 14
Waltz from Jazz Suite No. 2
Shostakovich was most definitely a light-and-shade composer. On the one hand, we have the intense, expansive orchestral works, full of grand political gestures and complex musical ideas. On the other, we find the many film scores and the light, jolly Jazz Suites, both composed in the 1930s. Both of Shostakovich’s Jazz Suites have a sort of end-of-the-pier quality to them. In truth, they bear the same relationship to authentic jazz as socks and sandals do to high fashion. This is deeply sugary music, created in direct response to the Soviet government’s demand that more be done to reflect this emerging genre. (from ClassicFM - full article)
Recording (3 mins)
If you have the time, the full suite is quite fun.
Full Suite (25 mins)
Thursday July 15
Symphony No 5 (4th movement)
The Symphony No. 5 by Dmitri Shostakovich is a work for orchestra composed between April and July 1937. Its first performance was on November 21, 1937, in Leningrad by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Yevgeny Mravinsky. The premiere was a huge success and received an ovation that lasted well over half an hour.
Here is the last movement.
Recording (9 mins)
Here is another recording. It's worth listening at least to the start, as it is taken much slower.
It lasts 3 minutes longer and is somewhat spoiled by two short adverts in the middle.
Recording 2 (12 minutes)
Which do you prefer?
Friday July 16
Romance (from The Gadfly)
The Gadfly is a 1955 Soviet historical drama film based on the novel by Ethel Lilian Voynich. In 1955 it was the third highest attended film in the Soviet Union, collecting over 39 million ticket sales. The movie tells a story of the underground struggle of Italian patriots against the Austrian invaders for independence of their homeland. Against the background of these events is a tragic story of a man transformed from a pure heart to a ruthless revolutionary - the legendary and elusive Gadfly.
The Gadfly Suite is a suite for orchestra arranged by Levon Atovmyan from Dmitri Shostakovich's movie score. The Romance section from the suite, with its solo violin melody, was used as the theme music for the Euston Films TV mini-series Reilly, Ace of Spies.
Recording
Weekend July 17/18
The Assault on Beautiful Gorky
The Unforgettable Year 1919 is a suite of music adapted from the score written by Dmitri Shostakovich for the 1951 film of the same name. The suite was arranged from the film score by Lev Atovmyan. The fifth movement has been described as a mini-piano concerto, in the style of, but even more Hollywood-like than, Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto of 1941. This movement describes the attack on the Krasnaya Gorka fort outside St. Petersburg.
It's worth reading this short article from ClassicFM.
Recording
Bonus
My highlight of the week has been the 2nd movement of the 2nd piano concerto. Every time I hear the piano entry my eyes start to water. Thanks to Jukeboxer, Anne Leach, I now know there is a ballet choreographed by the great Kenneth MacMillan which used the music of the piano concerto. Here is a link to part of the second movement. It is breathtaking.
Recording
If you search for Royal Ballet and Concerto you will find excepts from Act 1 and Act 3. A DVD is available from the Royal Opera Shop and Amazon containing the whole ballet. I think I might buy it.
Festive Overture
The Festive Overture is an orchestral work composed by Dmitri Shostakovich in 1954. Commissioned for the Bolshoi Theatre's celebration of the 37th anniversary of the October Revolution, the score has since become one of the most enduring of Shostakovich's occasional scores.
Recording
Tuesday July 13
Piano Concerto No 2
Piano Concerto No. 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich was composed in 1957 for his son Maxim's 19th birthday.
Today’s choice is the slow second movement. If you enjoy it as much as I did, you might want to continue to the third movement. I have included a link to the full piece as well, which is played by Dmitri himself.
Second movement (7 mins)
(if you wish)
Third movement (6 mins)
or you may prefer
Full piece played by Dmitri himself (18 mins)
Wednesday July 14
Waltz from Jazz Suite No. 2
Shostakovich was most definitely a light-and-shade composer. On the one hand, we have the intense, expansive orchestral works, full of grand political gestures and complex musical ideas. On the other, we find the many film scores and the light, jolly Jazz Suites, both composed in the 1930s. Both of Shostakovich’s Jazz Suites have a sort of end-of-the-pier quality to them. In truth, they bear the same relationship to authentic jazz as socks and sandals do to high fashion. This is deeply sugary music, created in direct response to the Soviet government’s demand that more be done to reflect this emerging genre. (from ClassicFM - full article)
Recording (3 mins)
If you have the time, the full suite is quite fun.
Full Suite (25 mins)
Thursday July 15
Symphony No 5 (4th movement)
The Symphony No. 5 by Dmitri Shostakovich is a work for orchestra composed between April and July 1937. Its first performance was on November 21, 1937, in Leningrad by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Yevgeny Mravinsky. The premiere was a huge success and received an ovation that lasted well over half an hour.
Here is the last movement.
Recording (9 mins)
Here is another recording. It's worth listening at least to the start, as it is taken much slower.
It lasts 3 minutes longer and is somewhat spoiled by two short adverts in the middle.
Recording 2 (12 minutes)
Which do you prefer?
Friday July 16
Romance (from The Gadfly)
The Gadfly is a 1955 Soviet historical drama film based on the novel by Ethel Lilian Voynich. In 1955 it was the third highest attended film in the Soviet Union, collecting over 39 million ticket sales. The movie tells a story of the underground struggle of Italian patriots against the Austrian invaders for independence of their homeland. Against the background of these events is a tragic story of a man transformed from a pure heart to a ruthless revolutionary - the legendary and elusive Gadfly.
The Gadfly Suite is a suite for orchestra arranged by Levon Atovmyan from Dmitri Shostakovich's movie score. The Romance section from the suite, with its solo violin melody, was used as the theme music for the Euston Films TV mini-series Reilly, Ace of Spies.
Recording
Weekend July 17/18
The Assault on Beautiful Gorky
The Unforgettable Year 1919 is a suite of music adapted from the score written by Dmitri Shostakovich for the 1951 film of the same name. The suite was arranged from the film score by Lev Atovmyan. The fifth movement has been described as a mini-piano concerto, in the style of, but even more Hollywood-like than, Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto of 1941. This movement describes the attack on the Krasnaya Gorka fort outside St. Petersburg.
It's worth reading this short article from ClassicFM.
Recording
Bonus
My highlight of the week has been the 2nd movement of the 2nd piano concerto. Every time I hear the piano entry my eyes start to water. Thanks to Jukeboxer, Anne Leach, I now know there is a ballet choreographed by the great Kenneth MacMillan which used the music of the piano concerto. Here is a link to part of the second movement. It is breathtaking.
Recording
If you search for Royal Ballet and Concerto you will find excepts from Act 1 and Act 3. A DVD is available from the Royal Opera Shop and Amazon containing the whole ballet. I think I might buy it.