Shostakovich

Shostakovich is view as one of the greatest Russian Composers of the 20th Century. Although limited by the Soviet Government in what he was allowed to produce for performance, he still composed many great works. Shostakovich wrote many of his works by order of the government. Not only did her write music but he was also an instructor at the Leningrad Conservatory and the conservatory in Moscow.

Shostakovich was born in 1906 in St. Petersburg Russia. Shostakovich got his start in his music through his mother; his mother who was a professional pianist. (http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/shostakovich.html) He also got his start at the Petrograd Conservatory which he attended from 1919 to 1925 finishing it off with composing his First Symphony as a graduation piece. With his First Symphony Shostakovich was launched into the world as a key Russian Composer for the 20th Century. His next two symphonies were greatly influenced by the government’s control over performance music, Symphonies No. 2, To October, and No. 3, The first of May. Both works were references to socialism. During his early years he also worked on a few ballets and an opera that were greatly influenced by contemporary Western Music The Nose, The

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Some of the hornors and awards are The Lenin Prize, an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford and the Hero of Socialist Labor medal. The original title he gave the first movement was War and the last was Victory. com )

A few years after completing his seventh symphony Shostakovich was again not in favor with the Stalinist regime the regime accused him of “formalistic distortions and antidemocratic tendencies alien to the Soviet people. '' He succeeded in pleasing Stalin with this symphony. com) He was accused of writing music that was to complex for ordinary people. The fifth symphony is subtitled ``A Soviet Artist's Practical Creative Reply to Just Criticism. Even after having been charged with being “formalistic” some of the most complex of his works came from this time period. The 11th symphony is subtitled The Year 1905 and the 12th is subtitled The Year 1917, both references to Soviet political history. Following the heart attack Shostakovich’s health continued to get worse to the point that five years before his death, in 1975 in Moscow, he had to stop composing.

Shostakovich worked his way back into favor with the government; in fact he received many honors in the years following the Stalin’s death.

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