Symphony No. 5 (Shostakovich)
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The Symphony No. 5 in D minor (Opus 47) by Dmitri Shostakovich was written between April and July of 1937 and first performed in Leningrad by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Yevgeny Mravinsky, on 21 November that year. The work was a huge success, and is said to have received an ovation of half an hour (or a whole hour, according to Mstislav Rostropovich). It is still one of his most popular works.
Movements
The work is approximately 45 minutes in length, and has four movements:
Reception
A journalist gave the work the subtitle A Soviet Artist’s Reply to Just Criticism, a reference to the denunciation of the composer in 1936. It was officially interpreted as a Bildungsroman describing "the making of a man", with an appropriately optimistic conclusion. Alexei Tolstoy wrote that, "the personality... begins to resonate with the epoch... Our audience responds enthusiastically to all that is bright, clear, joyous, optimistic, life-affirming".Quoted in Richard Taruskin, Interpreting Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, p. 32. In Fanning (ed) Shostakovich Studies.
However, this final movement, often being criticized for sounding shrill, is declared in Testimony to be a parody of shrillness, representing "forced rejoicing". In the words of the composer: "There is a feeling of rejoicing, but it is one of forced rejoicing. It is as if someone is hitting you over the head with an iron bar telling you "Your business is rejoicing" over and over again. Eventually, you walk away muttering "My business is rejoicing". This is symbolised by the repeated "d"'s at the end of the final movement in the violin and upper woodwind sections. It includes a quotation from the composer's song "Rebirth", accompanying the words "A barbarian painter" who "blackens the genius's painting".Wilson, Elizabeth (1994) p. 127. Shostakovich: A Life Remembered. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691044651. In the song, the barbarian's paint falls away and the original painting is reborn. It has been suggested that the barbarian and the genius are Stalin and Shostakovich respectively. The work is largely sombre despite the composer's official claim that he wished to write a positive work.
Trivia
Part of the symphony was sampled for the opening song from Morrissey's album Southpaw Grammar.
References
External links
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