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Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975)

Author of Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich

921+ Works 2,464 Members 54 Reviews 4 Favorited

About the Author

A child of Tsarist Russia and the Russian Revolution, Dmitri Shostakovich was born in St. Petersburg. Throughout his entire life, Shostakovich suffered from the effects of a childhood of malnutrition and disease. Despite such deprivation, he became a composer of powerful and advanced music. After show more studying music at the Leningrad Conservatory between 1919 and 1925, Shostakovich presented his First Symphony in 1925 to critical acclaim. In subsequent years he wrote 14 more symphonies, always attempting to follow the Communist party prescription to portray "Socialist Realism." For his efforts, however, Shostakovich was alternately reviled and hailed by the leadership of the Soviet Union. On his sixtieth birthday, he was finally honored as a Hero of Socialist Labor. Of his 15 symphonies, only the Fifth Symphony (1937) and the Tenth Symphony (1953) have gained a prominent place in concert repertoires. The Fifth Symphony is a masterpiece of symphonic composition and follows traditional symphonic construction in its movements. In the Tenth Symphony, Shostakovich introduced musical elements that he also incorporated into other compositions, notably the fifth and eighth string quartets and his concertos for violin and cello. Shostakovich wrote ballets, such as The Golden Age (1930). Many of his other works were also choreographed as ballets. He also composed an opera, Lady Macbeth of the District of Mtsensk (1930--32). Although it was condemned by Soviet authorities, who considered it full of "Western decadence," it enjoyed some success outside the Soviet Union. Shostakovich's music is remarkably consistent in style, technique, and emotional content. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Office of War Information, 1942

Series

Works by Dmitri Shostakovich

Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich (1979) 386 copies, 8 reviews
Shostakovich : Symphony no.5 in D minor, Op.47 [sound recording] (1989) — Composer — 59 copies, 1 review
Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65 [sound recording] (2001) — Composer — 52 copies, 1 review
Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43 [sound recording] (1990) — Composer — 43 copies
24 Preludes and Fugues Op. 87 [recording] (1950) — Composer — 27 copies
Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 [sound recording] (1997) — Composer — 19 copies, 1 review
Shostakovich: The Jazz Album [sound recording] (2008) — Composer — 15 copies
Hamlet [sound recording] (2004) — Composer — 7 copies
String Quartets 3 (1996) 5 copies
Shostakovich: The Film Album [sound recording] (1999) — Composer — 5 copies
String Quartets Nos. 1-5 (1994) 5 copies
String Quartets Volume 4 (1996) 5 copies
String Quartets 1 (1994) 4 copies
Shostakovich: The Dance Album [sound recording] (1996) — Composer — 4 copies
Recital 2000 (2000) 3 copies
String Quartets 2 (1995) 3 copies
The Nose / The Gamblers (1998) 3 copies
Waltz no. 2 (2019) 2 copies
Shostakovich: The Bolt (1995) 2 copies
Gadfly, the 2 copies
Violin concertos (1995) 2 copies
Sonatas Violin 2 copies
String Quartet 3 7 & 8 (2005) 2 copies
Shostakovich Edition (2012) 2 copies
Music for Piano (2007) 2 copies
Chamber Symphonies (2006) 2 copies
Symphony 13 2 copies
Song cycles 1 copy
Zwischenspiel Nr. 14 1 copy, 1 review
Complete Symphonies (2015) 1 copy
Piano Concerto No. 1 1 copy, 1 review
Streichquartette Vol.1 (2006) 1 copy
Jazz music 1 copy
Romance Op. 97a, No. 8 (2009) 1 copy
Valse pour orchestre n° 2 1 copy, 1 review
Moskva, Cheremushki (1998) 1 copy
The Gamblers (2001) 1 copy
Sym 7 (2000) 1 copy
Shostakovich: The Nose (2010) 1 copy
The Gamblers 1 copy
Walzer Nr. 2 1 copy
Symphonien Nr.1 3 (2006) 1 copy
Symphony No. 14, Op. 135 1 copy, 1 review
Waltz no. 2 1 copy
A dark century — Composer — 1 copy
Viola Sonata & Violin Sonata [sound recording] (2007) — Composer — 1 copy
The Gambler / The Nose (2013) 1 copy
String Quartets 6-10 (1997) 1 copy
Gadfly / Counterplan — Composer — 1 copy
Shostakovich : Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6 — Composer — 1 copy
Yo-Yo Ma - Shostakovich, Cello Concerto No. 1 — Composer — 1 copy, 1 review
Symphony No. 5. Op. 47 (2003) 1 copy
Symphony 5 (2007) 1 copy
Shostakovich : Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk {1932} [libretto] (1932) — Composer. Librettist — 1 copy
Symphony No.1 Op.10 (1996) 1 copy
Symphony No.5 Op.47 (2009) 1 copy
Symphony No. 13 "Babiy Yar" [sound recording] (1999) — Composer — 1 copy
Jazz Suites No.1&2 (2006) 1 copy
Dimitri Chostakovitch (2006) 1 copy
Shostakovich: Violin Concertos 1 & 2 (2010) — Composer — 1 copy

Associated Works

Fantasia 2000 [1999 film] (1999) — Composer — 309 copies, 3 reviews
Fantasia / Fantasia 2000 (2 Movie Collection) (2010) — Composer — 265 copies, 1 review
Fantasia 2000: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1999) — Composer — 13 copies
The Sound of The Academy — Composer — 7 copies
Odna [1931 film] — Composer — 3 copies
The Emerson Encores (2002) — Composer — 2 copies

Tagged

20th century (110) 20th century music (114) animation (42) autobiography (22) biography (46) CD (258) cello (42) chamber music (48) classical (71) Classical CD (25) classical music (246) concerto (44) Disney (46) Dmitri Shostakovich (100) DVD (45) enregistrement (39) fantasy (28) memoir (32) music (416) Music CD (68) opera (38) Orchestral (27) orchestral music (24) piano (68) quartet (25) recorded music (35) Russia (119) Russian (25) scores (23) Shostakovich (202) sound recording (64) Soviet Union (65) string (20) string quartet (44) symphonie (39) Symphony (114) URSS (43) VHS (23) viola (29) violin (45)

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

 
Flagged
lulaa | Jan 28, 2024 |
This book's been controversial since it was published in '79, 4 years after Shostakovich’s death. Some think it’s largely fabricated, others think it accurately represents the composer. The interviewer/author doesn’t do an exceptional job (e.g. there’s essentially nothing about Shostakovich’s family after his childhood), but if it’s substantially a fabrication, it’s pretty well done and pretty consistent. Regardless, it’s full of the tragedy and horror of life under Stalin, particularly as it affected the Soviet cultural elite, with many disturbing but interesting episodes. Surely the general gist is accurate.

More positively, it sheds a little light on Russian music from an important composer’s perspective, especially regarding Glazunov as an educator and also regarding Mussorgsky (if we trust these specifics). Nearly every paragraph is thick with a sarcasm that seems akin to the irony and sarcasm in Shostakovich’s music. Tragic as the material is, the sarcasm is often funny and occasionally hilarious. I haven’t seen the new Ashkenazy forward – I’d like to hear his take on the book.
… (more)
 
Flagged
garbagedump | 7 other reviews | Dec 9, 2022 |
These letters provide a unique insight into the life of Shostakovich through his own words. The long friendship of Isaak Glikman and Shostakovich contains more than personal remembrances but a glimpse into the imagination of artists that provides context for their art.
 
Flagged
jwhenderson | Aug 26, 2022 |
 
Flagged
VPALib | Mar 6, 2019 |

Awards

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Statistics

Works
921
Also by
21
Members
2,464
Popularity
#10,404
Rating
4.2
Reviews
54
ISBNs
104
Languages
14
Favorited
4

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