Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich {{Audio|Ru-Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich.ogg|listen}} (Russian: {{lang|ru|??????? ?????????? ??????????}}, Dmitrij Dmitrievi? ?ostakovi?) (September 12, 1906 (OS)/September 25, 1906 (NS) – August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. He had a troubled relationship with the government, which included two official denunciations of his music in 1936 and 1948; in public however he remained loyal, joining the party in 1960 and serving in the Supreme Soviet. Since his death, his response to life in the USSR has been the subject of political and musical controversy, with debate over the extent to which he may have been a secret dissident.

Orthodoxy and revisionism

Shostakovich's response to official criticism is disputed. It is clear that outwardly he conformed with the state, reading speeches and putting his name to articles expressing the government line. It is also generally agreed that he disliked the regime, a view confirmed by his family, his letters to Isaak Glikman, and the satirical cantata "Rayok", which ridiculed the "anti-formalist" campaign and was kept hidden until after his death.

Related Topics:
Cantata - Rayok

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

What is uncertain is the extent to which Shostakovich expressed his opposition to the state in his other music. The revisionist view was put forth by Solomon Volkov in the 1979 book Testimony, which was claimed to be Shostakovich's memoirs dictated to Volkov. The book claimed that many of the composer's works contained coded anti-government messages. It is known that he incorporated many quotations and motifs in his work, most notably his signature DSCH theme. His longtime collaborator Yevgeny Mravinsky said that "Shostakovich very often explained his intentions with very specific images and connotations" (Wilson p. 139). The revisionist perspective has subsequently been supported by his children, Maxim and Galina, and many Russian musicians. His widow Irina supports the general thesis but denies the authenticity of Testimony. Other prominent revisionists are Ian MacDonald, whose book The New Shostakovich put forward more interpretations of his music, and Elizabeth Wilson, whose Shostakovich: A Life Remembered provides testimony from many of the composer's acquaintances.

Related Topics:
Solomon Volkov - Testimony - Motif - DSCH - Yevgeny Mravinsky

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many musicians and scholars (notably Laurel Fay and Richard Taruskin) contest the authenticity (and debate the significance) of Testimony, alleging that Volkov compiled it from a combination of recycled articles, gossip, and possibly some information direct from the composer. More broadly, they argue that the significance of Shostakovich is in his music rather than his life, and that to seek political messages in the music detracts from, rather than enhances, its artistic value.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~