Great Composers: Dmitri Shostakovich

[@RacinZilla003]

I can't wait for the day that Daniel Radcliffe is old enough to play an anxious Shostakovich under Stalin's thumb.

[@zacharydetrick7428]

Yes.

[@ricardocabe]

Why not Toby Mcguire?

[@MrDSCH-ib2mx]

Thank you so much for taking my request!

[@ClassicalNerd]

My pleasure!

[@jackminto7062]

Thank you so much for requesting it

[@windynate1826]

did you see shosty in b2tsm by TSV

[@MrDSCH-ib2mx]

@@windynate1826 Nope. Not yet. But I will watch it soon!

[@evanwise7131]

I got to meet Yevgeny Yevtushenko and hear him recite his poem Babi Yar which Shostakovich based the choral text of his 13th symphony. Yevtushenko said Shostakovich called him and asked for permission and Yevtushenko said of course and asked when will the music be ready? Shostakovich said the music is already finished and invited Yevtushenko over and Shostakovich played through the music on piano and sang the choral part. Hearing this story was one of the most thrilling moments of my young life. I still have an autograph book from Yevtushenko that includes Babi Yar.

[@Don-md6wn]

Evan, in case you aren't aware of it, there is a great live recording of Babi Yar from the 1990's on Teldec with Kurt Masur conducting the NY Philharmonic in which Yevtushenko recites his poem in Russian before the symphony and recites a then new poem called "The Lost" in English at the end. There is a transcript of an interview with Yevtushenko in the booklet with the CD. He said the premiere performance of the symphony was on the verge of being canceled (and would not be published or recorded) because "the public was disturbed" that his text didn't contain any reference to the facts that Russians and Ukranians died together with Jews at Babi Yar. He added a few lines to his poem and took them to Shostakovich, who he said sighed and wrote the additional lines into his piano score.

[@evanwise7131]

@@Don-md6wn Thank you for this recommendation. I don't believe I've heard this version before or was unaware of this specific one if I did. I will be listening to it today. Thank you so much.

[@evanwise7131]

@@Don-md6wn I looked through my collection and this is the version I have. I believe it's one of the most popular recordings. thanks again

[@davidkuder4356]

So love 💘 your sharing this...!!

[@hugomiller1025]

What an amazing experience!

[@gabbyhyman1246]

He's a hero. Period.

[@hugomiller1025]

I encountered the fifth while still at school. I had a mental picture of this musical collosus be-striding the world with the march from the finale. It was a surprise to discover that DSCH was a nervous, chain-smoking, quivering little man with thick glasses! I had a similar experience with Ronald Smith, the pianist who used to tackle the various monumental and unplayable piano works in the repertoire. I imagined a broad-backed man bent over the piano, a look of furious concentration on his red, sweating face as he wrestled with the instrument. When I finally saw him play, I watched a diminutive scholarly little man with the demeanour of a retired church vicar. Life's full of surprises! ;)

[@RickyHarding]

Doing an essay on Shostakovich for my degree and this as an intro has been invaluable. Thank you.

[@thijmenkrijgsman2417]

Do you still have the link or the file, I am quite interested!

[@RickyHarding]

@@thijmenkrijgsman2417 to my essay?

[@thijmenkrijgsman2417]

@@RickyHarding yes please (although If you do not want to share it that’s absolutely fine too)

[@RickyHarding]

@@thijmenkrijgsman2417 no it's not problem at all (though be aware that it's only a first year undergrad assignment)

[@RickyHarding]

@@thijmenkrijgsman2417 drive.google.com/file/d/1WldZxwXvqVSinXRM3hFDBCiv8ospYWuY/view?usp=sharing LIke I say, only a first year undergrad assignment, but I got a decent score.

[@emilymarie9796]

Thank you! I have always loved Shostakovich and I'm thinking about writing my Music History research paper on him. Your information has been a great starting point and I really appreciate your taking the time to make this!

[@georgealderson4424]

Thank you for your video about Shostakovitch. Perhaps writing letters to himself was not so much to check on the postal service efficiency as to see if his lstters actually arrived or had been censored or even been made to disappear? Scary times

[@oritdrimer4354]

3:09 Perfect timing for that low C

[@Astavolamusic]

I love all the facts about composers I’ve learned from this channel! 🙏🎼❤️

[@richardlitwin4046]

A good overview and glad you mentioned his fondness for Jewish folk music. His melodic style has much in common with the spirit of this music.

[@davidkuder4356]

Mon Dieu... Thanks for this wonderful Shostakovich midrash...!! So glad to find your channel. Much to catch up on, details of the lives & times of composers I have loved since the 1950s-60s. MegaGratsies for citiing Volkov's intimate witness accounts, in *Testimony*... One of my favorite S. quotes presented there was, "I like to be treated with respect." (@ age 12... ; ) "I do, dear Dmitri... "

[@roimanthabah9513]

Shostakovich deserves a movie

[@nickhughes5282]

There’s one called Testimony which is quite interesting.

[@DmitriShostakovichDSCH]

i would love a movie

[@homeofcreation]

@@nickhughes5282 Yes but beware. The book it was based on is highly criticised for inaccuracy.

[@accordingtosophia]

Old video but just to point out, there are a few inaccuracies I'd like to address. The "A Soviet Artist's Response to Just Criticism" description of the 5th wasn't given to it by Shostakovich, but was coined by a journalist, according to the biography by Elizabeth Wilson. As for the "anti-Stalin messages" in the symphonies, many, if not all, of these are more interpretation and speculation than anything (by no means am I trying to suggest Shostakovich supported Stalin- we have his secret satirical piece, the "Antiformalist Rayok," that confirms his stance on that matter). Also (and I made this mistake too in an essay once!), his evacuation in 1941 was not by helicopter, but by plane. The 1948 denunciations were carried out mainly under Andrei Zhdanov, not directly Stalin as the video implies (hence the "Zhdanovshchina" decree). As for the interpretation of the 10th Symphony as a statement of individuality/triumph, I'd also like to point out that not only is this interpretation supported by the use of the DSCH motif and the year of its composition, but also the "ELMIRA" motif (alluding to Elmira Nazirova, a former student, friend, and brief romantic interest of his at the time) and quotations of Mahler's works (Shostakovich's 4th symphony, also musically very similar to Mahler, was withdrawn).

[@ClassicalNerd]

Yes, this is indeed old-in fact, this inaugurated a long, long line of requests [ lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html ]. For a better look at the Zhdanov doctrine, I suggest my video on Aram Khachaturian, which also includes a look at how Shostakovich factors into the political intrigue of the day.

[@hugomiller1025]

Well, isn't that interesting! The "Soviet artist's reply...." phrase has become part of folklore. I had always heard that these were DSCH's own words, but what you say makes more sense. I actually thought the phrase originated in 'Testimony', but then again, I think I was aware of the phrase before then. It is so very difficult for those of us who grew up and lived in free countries to try to understand the complexities of trying to stay alive by appeasing your rulers. I am inclined to take the above phrase at face value, but it's hard to be sure. 'Testimony' takes a more cynical view, but I'm not sure I trust that source. What is the 'Elmira' motif? I've not heard of that??

[@homeofcreation]

Over on the Gresham college channel there are some nice lectures on Shostakovitch with some more recent insights. Like the meaning of the Bizet quotation and the 150 a's in the last movement of the fifth.

[@DavidA-ps1qr]

As always, you cram a vast amount of researched information into a short space of time. It's a pity you didn't find 30 seconds to mention the 15th Symphony. One of the strangest pieces I think he ever wrote, But nevertheless this is a vastly educational video. Brilliant.

[@ВераМотылёва-ж4ъ]

Thank you for the video! I would say that I don't agree with you about "The Nose": this opera is based on a well known (then as well) short story by Nikolai Gogol, who is a classical author, so I don't think anyone could be surprised by the grotesque plot you've mentioned, but, perhaps, rather by the very choice of Shostakovich to write an opera based on that story, i. e. by the incompatibility of the plot and the genre. And by the music itself, I guess!

[@jeansimon326]

Wow! an excellent overview of the complexities of the musical and social agendas colliding in the person of Shostakovich. My admiration of him soars. Thank You enormously.

[@joerhodes8785]

Great videos, very informative. I really like his 15 String Quarter's. Have you ever considered dealing with David Tudor?

[@ClassicalNerd]

Tudor has been added at www.lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html.

[@victorydaydeepstate]

Awesome video

[@mason11198]

0:00 ah yes, V from Piano Quintet in G

[@DmitriShostakovichDSCH]

thanks

[@carmelogaa521]

Thank you!

[@russellhenrybieber6620]

Love your channel! Ever consider a video on Don van Vliet aka Captain Beefheart?

[@ClassicalNerd]

Duly noted: lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html

[@iangreer4585]

I personally know someone who has performed with Maxim Shostakovich, Dimitri's son.

[@iampie6954]

There's a page on the military history wiki about the premier of Shostakovich 7.

[@alexandresobreiramartins9461]

Love of vodka... Shostakov...HICUP! And I want to hear that quartet and have a recording of it in the Shostakovitch manner, so I can kill flies at my home! But seriously, it made me curious how it would sound.

[@spiritualneutralist2597]

Could you do a video on the composer Samuel - Coleridge Taylor?

[@ClassicalNerd]

Absolutely!

[@HanBurritoz]

There is a great Documentary about Shostakovic. It's called "Shostakovic against Stalin, The war symphonies" by Larry Weinstein (about 2 Hours) I really like your narrative style, giving alot of context :)

[@ClassicalNerd]

I'll be sure to check that out! There's a lot more to talk about when it comes to Shostakovich-there's a treasure trove of future video topics between the symphonies, the quartets, the operas, the preludes and fugues, etc.

[@rachmaninawesome2952]

I just finished a book called 'Symphony for the City of the Dead' by M. T. Anderson. It's all about the siege of Leningrad, and Shostakovich's 7th. I recommend it.

[@peenut169]

Bit late to the party, but there's this amazing documentary on Shostakovich called "Before the Cold Dawn." It's long, but boy, was it worthwhile.

[@valsammajoseph421]

@@rachmaninawesome2952 where is the book available sir

[@ShorkGamer]

The Nose is 100% made cos of Gogols: The Nose.

[@blackmage1276]

Im so sad you didn't talk about his 9th symphony

[@evanwise7131]

Music history teachers talk about Stalin and Shostakovich as if Stalin spent all his time agonizing over Shostakovich’s intent. Maybe he did... but I think Stalin had more pressing matters on his mind.

[@hugomiller1025]

It was a fairly pressing issue for DSCH! I heard that at one time he slept on the landing so his family wouldn't be disturbed if 'they' came for him in the night.

[@evanwise7131]

@@hugomiller1025 oh yes he was under threats all the time. My comment was more aimed at music history teachers and not to diminish the danger he was always in during the Stalin years.

[@seanramsdell4172]

Have you seen the 1963 animated version of The Nose?

[@ClassicalNerd]

I've not seen it all the way through.

[@accordingtosophia]

I've never heard of this! Do you have a link? I'd be excited to watch it!

[@DrMarianus]

Shostakovich always lived with a packed suitcase. Many of his composer friends were murdered because their musical style was rejected by Stalin. Such was life and is life for all kinds of artists under authoritarian regimes of the past present or future, no matter their political beliefs.

[@CaesarCMusic]

Great stuff! I can see you have quite a lot of books on music. Do you have any recommendations? What are your favorite books on music ? (Anything on music: theory, bios, treatises, etc) Just looking for some good reads...

[@ClassicalNerd]

The Broyles and von Glahn book on Leo Ornstein is really riveting, as are both of the Jan Swafford biographies I've got (Brahms and Beethoven). I'm also fond of Slonimsky's _Lexicon of Musical Invective_ (though I've got a soft spot for scathing reviews).

[@CaesarCMusic]

Cool! Thank you very much I'll take a look at those!

[@DisRespectoids]

i was hoping to hear a comparison between his 2nd piano concerto and beethoven's 5th

[@hugomiller1025]

Er, why?? ;)

[@DisRespectoids]

@@hugomiller1025 second movement, check it out

[@MrLanceDaily]

Can you do videos on Krenek or Lutoslawski?

[@ClassicalNerd]

Krenek has been added to the request pool and Lutosławski has been bumped in the request pool.

[@bazookaman1353]

Stalin so bad God gave him Shot's curse of the ninth.

[@blindazabat9527]

"Evacuated via helicopter"? Did you check that one? ;)

[@millky3634]

I love Shostakovich

[@DmitriShostakovichDSCH]

thanks

[@millky3634]

@@DmitriShostakovichDSCH I still love you Dmitri, forever and always

[@DmitriShostakovichDSCH]

i love you too

[@roku401]

I wonder if Shostakovich considered himself a more pure Leninist, rather than a Stalinistic Leninist...

[@danielgonzalezjr8350]

8:21 Khachaturian too

[@dimitrikorsakov2570]

You should get on Twitter

[@victorydaydeepstate]

Stalin Gothic music

[@alexandresobreiramartins9461]

Listening to what was it like to live in the Soviet Union under Stalin is soo much fun... I think we should pool money to send SJWs to Cuba with just a one way ticket. If they love communism so much, let they enjoy it to the fullest.