Dmitri Shostakovich

Lore & Background

Shostakovich achieved early fame in the Soviet Union, but had a complex relationship with its government. 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. Even after his censure was rescinded in 1956, performances of his music were occasionally subject to state interventions, as with his Thirteenth Symphony (1962). Nevertheless, Shostakovich was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (1947) and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (from 1962 until his death), as well as chairman of the RSFSR Union of Composers (1960–1968). Over the course of his career, he earned several important awards, including the Order of Lenin, from the Soviet government. Shostakovich combined various musical techniques in his works. His music is characterized by sharp contrasts, elements of the grotesque, and ambivalent tonality; he was also heavily influenced by neoclassicism and by the music of Gustav Mahler. His orchestral works include 15 symphonies and six concerti (two each for piano, violin, and cello). His chamber works include 15 string quartets, a piano quintet, and two piano trios. His solo piano works include two sonatas, an early set of 24 preludes, and a later set of 24 preludes and fugues. Stage works include three completed operas and three ballets. Shostakovich also wrote several song cycles and a substantial quantity of music for theatre and film. Shostakovich's reputation has continued to grow after his death. Scholarly interest has increased significantly since the late 20th century, including considerable debate about the relationship between his music and his attitudes toward the Soviet government.

Reader's Guide

Shostakovich was born on 25 September [O.S. 12 September] 1906 in Saint Petersburg. He displayed musical talent after beginning piano lessons with his mother at the age of 9. In 1919, at age 13, he was admitted to the Petrograd Conservatory. His musical breakthrough was the First Symphony, written as his graduation piece at the age of 19, premiered on 12 May 1926. After graduation, he embarked on a dual career as concert pianist and composer. He was among the Soviet contestants in the inaugural I International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1927. Shostakovich was stricken with appendicitis on the opening day of the competition, but his condition improved by the time of his first performance on 27 January 1927. He persisted into the final round but earned only a diploma, no prize.

Did You Know?

• Shostakovich's paternal grandfather, Bolesław Szostakowicz, was a Polish revolutionary exiled to Siberia after the January Uprising of 1863–1864.
• Shostakovich wrote a funeral march in 1918 in memory of two leaders of the Kadet Party murdered by Bolshevik sailors.
• Shostakovich's father, Dmitri Boleslavovich Shostakovich, worked as an engineer under Dmitri Mendeleev at the Bureau of Weights and Measures.
• Shostakovich's First Symphony was written as his graduation piece at age 19 and premiered on 12 May 1926.

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