Shostakovich's First Symphony shows his trademark musical gestures, including nervous tension, sarcastic wit, passion, and intelligence, expressed with subtle and direct economy.
Compositional Technique
The First Symphony's opening brilliance was influenced by Stravinsky's Petrushka, and the unsettling idea of humans as puppets, also found in Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, stayed with Shostakovich throughout his life.
Composer Biography
Dmitri Shostakovich, born in 1906, was a child prodigy who started piano lessons at eight and was composing an opera by age nine.
Composer Biography
After the 1917 Revolution and his father's death, Shostakovich, despite suffering from malnutrition, worked as a silent-movie pianist, sometimes losing his job for laughing too much.
Composition History
Shostakovich's First Symphony, written when he was eighteen, served as his graduation piece from the Leningrad Conservatory.
Critical Reception
The premiere of Shostakovich's First Symphony in 1926 was a huge success, leading to worldwide recognition and prompting Alban Berg to write a flattering letter of appreciation.
Historical Context
Shostakovich's Second Symphony, 'To October', was commissioned in 1927 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution.
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