Dmitri Shostakovich

Lore & Background

Shostakovich was born on Podolskaya Street in Saint Petersburg, the second of three children. His paternal grandfather, Bolesław Szostakowicz, was a Polish revolutionary exiled to Siberia after the January Uprising. Shostakovich displayed musical talent after beginning piano lessons with his mother at age 9, and at 13 was admitted to the Petrograd Conservatory, where Alexander Glazunov monitored his progress. His First Symphony, written as his graduation piece at age 19, premiered on 12 May 1926 to an enthusiastic audience.

After graduation, Shostakovich pursued dual careers as concert pianist and composer. He competed in the inaugural I International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1927, earning only a diploma despite his playing finding favor with the audience. His 1934 opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was initially a success but later condemned by the Soviet government, putting his career at risk. In 1948, his work was denounced under the Zhdanov Doctrine, with professional consequences lasting several years.

Shostakovich combined various musical techniques, characterized by sharp contrasts, elements of the grotesque, and ambivalent tonality, influenced by neoclassicism and Gustav Mahler. His orchestral works include 15 symphonies and six concerti; chamber works include 15 string quartets, a piano quintet, and two piano trios. He also wrote two completed operas (The Nose and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk), three ballets, several song cycles, and substantial music for theatre and film.

Reader's Guide

Shostakovich's significance lies in his status as a major composer who navigated a fraught relationship with the Soviet government. His music, marked by sharp contrasts and grotesque elements, reflects both neoclassical influences and the legacy of Gustav Mahler. Despite state condemnation—including the 1948 Zhdanov Doctrine and later interventions with his Thirteenth Symphony—he held official positions such as chairman of the RSFSR Union of Composers and membership in the Supreme Soviet. His reputation has continued to grow after his death, with scholarly interest increasing significantly since the late 20th century, including considerable debate about the relationship between his music and his attitudes toward the Soviet government. His extensive output, including 15 symphonies and 15 string quartets, remains central to the orchestral and chamber repertoire.

Did You Know?

• Shostakovich wrote a funeral march in 1918 in memory of two leaders of the Kadet Party murdered by Bolshevik sailors.
• He was stricken with appendicitis on the opening day of the 1927 Chopin Competition but persisted into the final round.
• His paternal grandfather, Bolesław Szostakowicz, was a Polish revolutionary exiled to Siberia after the January Uprising of 1863–1864.
• Shostakovich was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union from 1962 until his death.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"I live in the USSR, work actively and count naturally on the worker and peasant spectator.

If I am not comprehensible to them I should be deported." — Dmitri Shostakovich "In discussion with an opera audience, January 14, 1930; cited from Laurel Fay Shostakovich: A Life (2000) p. 55." — Dmitri Shostakovich "What can be considered human emotions?

Surely not only lyricism, sadness, tragedy?

Doesn't laughter also have a claim to that lofty title?

I want to fight for the legitimate right of laughter in "serious" music." — Dmitri Shostakovich "From an article in Sovetskoye Iskusstvo, November 5, 1934; translation from Laurel Fay Shostakovich: A Life (2000) p. 77." — Dmitri Shostakovich