Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich:
A Musical Representation of Communist Russia In the musical world, no one is as controversial as Dmitri Shostakovich. Although he died not 30 years ago, many aspects of his life still remain to be a great mystery. When he was alive, many in the world believed he was a Communist and a devoted servant of Stalin. It was not until after his death that the truth had come out. Or had the truth been there all along? Many believe that this was because his music expressed a lot of nationalism and idolized Stalin. However, in an attempt to escape the red fist of Stalin, Shostakovich made his music appear to be nationalistic when really it is full of sarcasm and hidden messages. Shostakovich showed his contempt Stalin and Communist Russia through sarcasm and the themes of anti-Semitism and persecution in his music.
In order to understand Shostakovich's music, one must look at Russian history. When Communist Russia was first established early in the 20th Century, many believed it to be a vast improvement over the previous tsar regime. For the first time in history a government had been created that had complete control over the economy ("History"). Within a year the industrial output had increased by 334 percent. Everything seemed to be going well, but underneath the surface was a harsh reality. While the economy of Soviet Russia under Stalin's rule appeared to be flourishing when the rest of the world was in a post-war depression, the country was actually climbing a mountain only to fall off a cliff on the other side. In an attempt to industrialize Russia and salvage the economy, many peasants were forced off their land, their herds slaughtered and their crops destroyed. In an attempt to revolt, these peasants were deemed "kulaks" and were executed. This industrialization of Russia was referred to by Stalin as the "Five-Year Plan." During this time, Stalin would manage to gain more power then any tsar had ever had, repressing many in his quest for
A Musical Representation of Communist Russia In the musical world, no one is as controversial as Dmitri Shostakovich. Although he died not 30 years ago, many aspects of his life still remain to be a great mystery. When he was alive, many in the world believed he was a Communist and a devoted servant of Stalin. It was not until after his death that the truth had come out. Or had the truth been there all along? Many believe that this was because his music expressed a lot of nationalism and idolized Stalin. However, in an attempt to escape the red fist of Stalin, Shostakovich made his music appear to be nationalistic when really it is full of sarcasm and hidden messages. Shostakovich showed his contempt Stalin and Communist Russia through sarcasm and the themes of anti-Semitism and persecution in his music.
In order to understand Shostakovich's music, one must look at Russian history. When Communist Russia was first established early in the 20th Century, many believed it to be a vast improvement over the previous tsar regime. For the first time in history a government had been created that had complete control over the economy ("History"). Within a year the industrial output had increased by 334 percent. Everything seemed to be going well, but underneath the surface was a harsh reality. While the economy of Soviet Russia under Stalin's rule appeared to be flourishing when the rest of the world was in a post-war depression, the country was actually climbing a mountain only to fall off a cliff on the other side. In an attempt to industrialize Russia and salvage the economy, many peasants were forced off their land, their herds slaughtered and their crops destroyed. In an attempt to revolt, these peasants were deemed "kulaks" and were executed. This industrialization of Russia was referred to by Stalin as the "Five-Year Plan." During this time, Stalin would manage to gain more power then any tsar had ever had, repressing many in his quest for
Cited: Blokker, Roy, and Robert Dearling. The Music of Dmitri Shostakovich: The Symphonies. London: Associated University Press, 1979. "Dmitri Shostakovich." Wikipedia. 17 Nov. 2005 . "History of Russia." Wikipedia. 5 Dec. 2005 . Dakin, Deborah Dr. Personal interview. 3 Dec. 2005. Fairclough, Pauline. "Facts, Fantasies, and Fictions: Recent Shostakovich Studies." Music & Letters Aug. 2005: 86.3: 452-460. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. U of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 16 Nov. 2005 . Kuhn, Judith. "Esti Scheinberg, Irony, Satire, Parody and the Grotesque in the Music of Shostakovich." Music Analysis Jul. 2004: 23.2/3: 403-409. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. University Lib., U of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 16 Nov 2005 . Shostakovich, Dmitri. Symphony 4. Cond. Stone Collin. ITunes, 2005. ---. Symphony No. 5 in D minor op. 47. Scottish National Orch. Cond. Neeme Jarui. ITunes, 2005. ---. Symphony No. 7 op. 60 "Leningrad." National Symphony Orchestra. Cond. Mstislov Rostropovich. ITunes. 2005. ---. Symphony No. 10 in E minor op. 93. Scottish National Orch. Cond. Neeme Jarui. ITunes. 2005. Simon, John ---. "The Sorrows of Shostakovich." The New Leader May-June 2002: 50-52. Expanded Academic ASAP Plus. InfoTrac. University Lib., U of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 17 Nov. 2005 . Volkov, Solomon. Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich. New York: Limelight Editions, 1984.