Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 - Music History Crash Course

Dmitri Shostakovich was a Russian composer and pianist of the 20th century. We take a closer look at his 5th symphony and how the political climate of the time influenced his music.
Visit the Official Odd Quartet Store:
odd-quartet-comics.myshopify.com
Purchase great merch to help support the channel!
Become my patron on Patreon and help me shape the future of this channel!
/ oddquartet
Follow me:
Facebook | / oddquartet
Instagram | / oddquartet
Twitter | / oddquartet

[@carolynthomas3938]

You’re a composer Harry

[@r0mmm]

That one really made my day

[@TheIdiotBehindTheScreen]

Hari Poter- the musical grnius of russian propaganda

[@anwarawad9462]

You're a wizard Dmitri

[@wstegeszczu]

Saying that the Association of Proletarian Musicians was conservative may lead to misunderstanding of its nature. Of course they fought the avant-garde, but not in the name of preserving the tradition. One of the reasons why most of its members aren't highly estimated nowadays (with the exception of Kabalevsky) is that they basically ignored the rules of composition. There was also a radical fraction of APM, called Prokoll (Проколл), which demanded liquidation of The Bolshoi Theatre and claimed old classical music (Chopin, Tchaikovsky etc.) to be harmful to the development of young people's aesthetics.

[@tophan5146]

Additionally, due to the context being political, saying they were “conservative” may lead some viewers to associate it with right-wing, when it’s the opposite - Stalinism was far-left.

[@mozartthegreat7139]

@@tophan5146 well if we are talking about social issues, (abortion, gay rights etc) stalin was def right

[@Tolstoy111]

@@mozartthegreat7139by that standard so was Castro and various other Marxist dictators.

[@johninman7545]

​@@mozartthegreat7139another deadly ideologue, I think after all those go to a guliogue w,who's next? Blood thirsty ideologue have to always shake thier thiirst

[@gymnopedie4445]

Second theme of the first movement is the most gorgeous part of the entire symphony.

[@voila6433]

You deserve more attention. Great job.

[@TheMilitantHorse]

On the fourth movement, I was just sitting there like, "Wait for it, wait for it... D MAJOR!" Wonderful video. I had never really listened to much of Shostakovich's work, so I'm not too familiar with how his musical style was. Great piece, and great video!

[@ladygrace7585]

Thanks to this video i got tickets to see this symphony in a few weeks 😊😊

[@Oddquartet]

Yay! I hope you enjoy the performance. This is a really great piece to go see live.

[@randomimprovise1918]

I always feel the satirical feeling at the end when it turn to Major Key. Its sustain the phrase from the minor and keep it still and force the major triumphant theme along. Spunds like "Hey, authority you satisfied huh? but i would keep a little bit of resist in the music.

[@emilycheng5897]

"It's the kind of rejoicing you do when somebody holds a gun against your head and tells you rejoice, rejoice, rejoice."

[@kmk8284]

The timpanist really had fun in the finale😆

[@brendanwiggins1942]

I really wish you had gone more into detail of why Shostakovich did the things he did in this piece. Things like why he sat the brass out in the 3rd and why he wrote over 250 consecutive a's for the first violins and oboes at the end. There is so much to learn about this piece, I understand you couldn't go into everything, but there's some really interesting and frankly humbling things about this piece that should be known by anyone listening to it.

[@alaash4220]

Will you please explain more .... I would like to know more about it . Regards

[@fhpurcell5364]

@@alaash4220 yea, me too. This man and his music baffle me again and again and I need to know more.

[@saifighter1394]

Wow this episodes is way longer than all the others. Awesome! I don’t remember how I found your channel but I love it. I don’t really know anything about music but your videos are still really entertaining. I don’t know all the different terms you use but its easy to understand how you break it down. Can’t wait for next episode!

[@Oddquartet]

Thank you, I try to make the music theory stuff easy to understand. Thanks for watching!

[@a-money-music3473]

Incredible video. Helping me keep my sanity as I venture through music school.

[@alaash4220]

Appreciate your efforts..we are all connected by music . Keep going, what you are doing here is really awesome. Respect

[@josephrasmussen5548]

Holy jesus you deserve thousands and thousands of subscribers. thank you so much for these videos i love them

[@jmascisss]

Four Shostakovich symphony recommendations: - Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 10 - Philadelphia Orchestra & Ormandy; - Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43 - Scottish National Orchestra & Jarvi; - Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47 - London Symphony Orchestra & Previn; - Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65 - Concertgebouw Orchestra & Haitink

[@Oddquartet]

Thank you for the recommendations!

[@jackminto7062]

Nos 6 and 9 are my favourite, and no.s 10, 11 and 12 are great too!

[@jackminto7062]

@@kaiko203 *Minor

[@porridgeandprunes]

Thanks for reawakening my interest in this symphony. Although I have listened to it a number of times over the years, there is nothing like a good analysis to remind me of the great moments in this work.

[@michaelwu7678]

How does this channel have less than 2k subscribers? It’s amazing!!! I’m gonna advertise your channel on every music theory related video I find!

[@tophan5146]

Now it’s over 20k subscribers 😊

[@JesusGonzalez-ky8im]

GREAT Work! Looking forward to the next ones.

[@snakesnoteyes]

I always enjoy discussions of my favorite composer. Thank you.

[@reehji]

His 5th symphony is one of my fav! also, who can resist the second waltz? :3

[@ibreathenapalm1112]

Reehji I fell in love with the 2nd waltz. He's basically Harry Potter of the music kind.

[@forbiddenfursona]

Waltz 2 was so good I had to compose myself a waltz with the same heartwarming charm as the waltz he made.

[@hobbes9513]

just found this by chance. can‘t skip a video about one of my all time favourite Symphonies. Great work, subscribed!

[@contranimal]

Another good video I think to watch about this piece if you have the time and can find it is "Keeping Score" with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony where they go in depth about everything with the movements, the time period, and even talk with some of the musicians who lived in Russia as little children.

[@pinacolada1837]

That video actually led me to this one

[@dmitrishostakovich7561]

Ok you’re getting it

[@patriciafantoli1919]

In the 70's I spliced 1 minutes and 30 seconds for a gymnastic floor routine. This breakdown was really excellent!

[@jeansimon326]

Very worth while. Thank you for giving us much reason for thought and deeper appreciation of the works of Shostakowitsch.

[@s02229]

The moment when the key changes from minor to major reminds me of the finale of Swan Lake. I don’t know a lot about classical music but this video was enlightening. Great work 👍

[@mrzoonix6368]

I think Tchaikovsky misunderstood what canon means in music.

[@Trooman20]

He probably did, I am surprised he didn't kill people in the premiere of that overture

[@sercoury]

Many thanks for this wonderful video. I have listened this symphony many times, but I could never understand it without your very clear explanation. The last bit where you showed the change from D minor to D major was excellent. Great video!

[@jenya1996]

Bravo 👏 very well narrated. Great video.

[@gillunderwood4649]

Great video and have recommended it to my students. Thank you.

[@patrickkeyes5916]

Thank you so much. Will you please do more videos of his work?

[@tiffanyyao9504]

It is really helpful for me to understand the context of the piece I am learning. I hope there are more videos like this

[@erzsblasfantaven3334]

The animation is so good!

[@s02229]

The flute recap. In the first movement always reminds me of Carmen 🙈🙈

[@octaviosmorandini]

Your explanation was amazing! I'm from Brazil. This is the first video of yours that I've watched, but I'm already your fan! If I may, I'd suggest Marin Alsop's interpretation of the Shostakovich's 5th with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra either. Thanks again!

[@marazulization]

Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you ! Can’t thank you enough !

[@G.v.5049]

What a great upload ‼️Thx so much

[@mruberduck]

what a great video!! Thank you so much!

[@LlAM514]

Odd quartet, ur so smart I never knew more than u, U teach me so much! Keep on going 😊

[@patriciafantoli1919]

Such an incredible breakdown, of a favored piece. Thank you for this!

[@youareallfeckinboring]

As someone who just find her way in to the world of classical music (in a generic sense), this video is well-made and informative. Please do more for Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and rest of the gang :)

[@ezequielstepanenko3229]

Great video, I love this symphony, although I think the Leningrad symphony is better

[@dandweller]

Extraordinary Music! His work does give off a very heroic sense to It, I love It!

[@reverberate10]

oh i thought you were going to shout out the recording of Leonard Bernstein conducting the 7th Symphony with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. it would be interesting to do a compare/contrast with that symphony, especially with those Chicago horns.

[@GoodxLad]

Strong and concise video. Thank you!

[@francescochebat]

Very informative, thanks a lot. Well done. 👍

[@t0mcc]

wtf, best video ive seen so far! thx for the good infos

[@decruzyserao6994]

you’re amazing new subscriber Thank you so much for this!!!!!!

[@tiffanyyao9504]

Great quality work

[@Lokk54]

I've been listening to this symphony when studying for years and now I love it even more thanks to your video, thank you so much for the explanation, you've gained a like and a new subscriber... It was awesome! (Sorry for my english)

[@caterscarrots3407]

Shostakovich is like "The Beethoven of the 1900s". Seriously, I hear similarities in the style of Shostakovich and Beethoven, even though the classic examples for composers with a Beethovenian style after Beethoven are Brahms and Mahler. I mean, compare this symphony with Beethoven's Fifth for instance. I instantly hear these similarities: - Repeated dissonances(in the case of Shostakovich, it involves more seconds, whereas in the case of Beethoven, it is mainly diminished seventh chords) - Sudden and extreme dynamics(Shostakovich goes more extreme with his dynamics than Beethoven, but Beethoven goes pretty extreme as well. I mean, that pianissimo to fortissimo that occurs twice in the development section of his Fifth Symphony, First Movement is pretty extreme, not just because of the dynamics, but also because of the screeching halt of half notes followed by lots of energy in eighth notes) - Mysterious sections(in the case of Beethoven, his entire Scherzo movement is mysterious, Shostakovich has mysteriousness spread across the symphony) - Picardy Third(Both fifth symphonies start in minor and end in major, though in the case of Beethoven, the Picardy Third is an entire movement's worth of material) - Energy and Drama(I know I have partly explained this already, but both symphonies are littered with fast notes, Beethoven adds further to the energy of the fast notes by making his entire symphony based on 1 single motif, the infamous Ba Ba Ba Bum that rhythmically unifies the entire symphony and adds further to the drama by having the symphony be in C minor(which is sometimes called Beethoven's key))

[@jdiwkall]

don't forget Bruckner

[@wstegeszczu]

Thank you for sharing some observations - they will surely come in useful during my listening experience :D

[@s02229]

I don’t know much about music history or music theory but Shostakovich studied a lot of Beethoven in his youth. I believe he played the Hammerklavier for his final exam. Beethoven has a great influence on him. It could also be the reason why Shostakovich was so into the String Quartet format. Thanks for pointing their similarities because it’s very interesting 😊

[@jeffe_77]

I have always contended that the “March” section was a subtle hidden rebuke to the Soviet regime and Stalin.

[@reehji]

please do one on the trout or schubert's 5th symphony :D

[@Oddquartet]

Some Schubert could be fun! I already have some of the upcoming videos already planned out, but I will see if I can add some Schubert in there as well. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@wolfgangresch1650]

Thanks for the GREAT video 💪🙏🙏🙏

[@homeofcreation]

this symphony is love poem, with quotations of Carmen (the Amore, Amore phrase) and the 150 la's (a's) at the end pointing to Shostakovich's love of his life Lala who left him for a Brazillian named Carmen.

[@1cultural]

You left out the violin glissando section in the trio of the 2nd movement. Why?

[@SeaSon7ary]

17:35 you look like Vsauce lolol

[@Mike80097]

I got a high when it got to D Major!

[@georgekelk9575]

Same

[@detectivehome3318]

same

[@LegoDonut18]

same

[@carmelogaa521]

Thank you!

[@petechudleigh8070]

Great analysis of the work and i am glad you brought in the historical context as well. The doco "Shostakovich Against Stalin" is also good at giving some of the historical perspective to his music as well

[@ijopstuff4953]

At 7:56 you used the wrong part as the cellos play the bass line at the start rather than bassoons

[@composers2072]

Great!

[@elijahhorton202]

At 10:10, you can just call them violas mate.

[@indoorusedonly]

violas are the 4th violins in this case ;)

[@gabbyhyman1246]

The 5th saved his life. The 7th saved Russia.

[@tahabirben8649]

great vid

[@TofindBabylon]

Valuable movie… very helpful for amateurs like me❤

[@cirohernandezcello]

Amazing video!! Can you write the traduction in Spanish ?? Bravo for you work

[@smkh2890]

This is already helpful, but i just cannot make out his themes. I could not sing one back, or hum it even! Maybe i need to have the score with me.

[@smkh2890]

and a year later... its bombastic and unsubtle. To me there is nothing better in early 20th century music than Stravinski's Petrushka, Apres Midi, Sacre, and all his early works for that matter.

[@mariavidineeva2524]

​@@smkh2890 lol it's great that everything changes. A year ago I didn't understand the music of Shostakovich at all, and here I am, completely mesmerised by his 5th symphony and some other works

[@jgesselberty]

I have always thought that some of this symphony was unconsciously modeled after the Mahler 1st.

[@lucasx1c2]

So good, i love u

[@markoshayes6613]

no sheet music:(?

[@dimsimlord]

Why show an audiograph instead of the actual sheet music?

[@Oddquartet]

When I was editing the video, I found that trying to show the entire orchestral score on screen made the music too small to read. I thought about using a piano reduction, but then there would be this disconnect from the music on the screen being a piano reduction and the audio being a full orchestra. I felt that a good compromise would be to show an audiograph instead of the sheet music. I would prefer to show the sheet music. It just didn't work out in this instance.

[@unforgettablejazzfusion5546]

Great video. Of course, Sjostakovitsj meant it ironic. The ending.

[@MrDSCH-ib2mx]

The D major part of the 4th movement is played way too fast in my opinion. It should be played much MUCH slower.

[@preetinagpuria9936]

Exactly

[@luigivercotti6410]

we really should be hearing the violins hammering the A chord

[@petrusetnonpetrus3359]

No. Shostakovicz played quickly. And he complained for too slow parts in music. Especially 4th movement should be quick. You can realize the main line of melody. Music played too slowly becomes separated notes. The single note is just a sound, but many notes gives you the idea of composer without being bored.

[@Ivan_Preobragenskiy]

@@petrusetnonpetrus3359 Well, the discussion about happy/tragic final of this symphony continues even nowadays. Shostakovich hin=mself didn't like the Bernstein's extremely fast ending. You understand, this pafos of Stalin's era, this false celebration during the suffering of millions repressed people -- this was the first intention of composer. And that was certainly a triumph, because this "major" ending made government, political powers believe in the happy ending of this symphony. From there're these discussions about tempo and the character of the final. I also think, that intentionally pafos final makes the symphony more balanced, it connects the last part with the first, like in classic symphonies (notice, that it's written in classic structure with reverted middle parts order). However, I'm absolutely sure, that conductor can interpretate any musical symphony according to his personal perception, and his task is convince the audience by the musical performance, of course, not orally, that his point of view is correct. It's an art, it shows us many ways to understand the same, especially, in music.

[@classicalroach]

Omg shoSTAkovich

[@goldy_on_pc930]

Back than musicians kept making music even tough it threatened their life very literally, and now musicians quit because of a few hate comments lol

[@MTMargraf]

this video was released on the same day when Stalin first saw lady Macbeth in 1936

[@IwanOchs5]

Шостакович был одним из великих

[@horseradish4046]

I love the 5th but his 4th symphony is far superior in my opinion. Listen to Neeme Jarvi's version

[@gigogrom216]

5:02 This theme is actually development of the main theme

[@plekkchand]

Just "let's listen". Not "let's take a listen."

[@prometheanevent]

And, here we are again, in our own time, a new march toward socialism - and expecting a different outcome. Ironic that musicians and artists often look so fondly upon an ideology so antithetical to their own free expression. “The most radical revolutionary becomes a conservative the day after the revolution.”

[@ericbenjamin2908]

It's not socialism that was the source of the repression. Artistic freedom flourishes in other socialist countries (Scandanavia, for example). It had more to do with cultural conservatism in the USSR and the cult of Stalin.

[@teodorlontos3294]

@@ericbenjamin2908 Scandinavia is not socialist! Read up on social democracy before spreading misinformation.

[@aadarshbalireddy2939]

@@teodorlontos3294 he is mentioning Scandinavia as socialist because the original commenter is likely refering to the rise of democratic socialism in the top comment when he says socialism, so he is responding to OP in his own terms.

[@teodorlontos3294]

@@aadarshbalireddy2939 we must use correct language, otherwise the words lose meaning

[@maxalaintwo3578]

@@ericbenjamin2908 Socialism left the power vacuum open for a madman like Stalin to swoop in and impose his will. It's what always happens.