Shostakovich Under Stalin's Shadow - Symphony No. 10
7/31/2015, 5 Tracks, 1:04:50
Featuring
Andris Nelsons
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Dmitri Shostakovich
Did you know?
1/6
Compositional Technique
The Tenth Symphony extensively uses Shostakovich's musical "signature" D-S-C-H (D, E-flat, C, B-natural in German notation), providing emotional and structural unity.
Interpretation
Conductor Andris Nelsons interprets the "cold colors" of the Tenth Symphony as reflecting the pervasive fear of the Stalinist period.
Composition History
Shostakovich composed six of his fifteen symphonies, including the Tenth, in the 17 years following the denouncement of his opera, concluding several months after Stalin's death in 1953.
Historical Context
In 1936, an article in the official Communist newspaper Pravda, reportedly ordered by Joseph Stalin, denounced Shostakovich's opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, calling it "coarse, primitive, and vulgar."
Composer Biography
After the Pravda article, Shostakovich, once a popular Soviet composer, became an "enemy of the people," with friends even afraid to greet him.
Performer Biography
Andris Nelsons, the conductor, grew up in Soviet Latvia and studied in St. Petersburg, the hometown of composer Shostakovich.
You might also enjoy...
Pettersson: Symphony No. 2 - Symphonic Movement
Schmidt: Symphony No. 3 - Hindemith: Concerto for Orchestra
Schmidt: Symphonie No. 4
Shostakovich, D.: Symphony No. 15 / Hamlet (Excerpts)
Villa-Lobos: Symphony No. 2 - New York Skyline Melody
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 6 & 7; Incidental Music to „King Lear”
Hindemith: Orchestral Works, Vol. 6
Reinecke: Orchestral Works
Nielsen: Symphony No. 5 & Masquerade Excerpts
Frederic Lamond: Symphony in A Major & Other Works
