Free Thinker Posted June 20, 2005 Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 (edited) My high school band recently performed Shosty's Fifth Symphony, which I enjoyed playing and listening to. Any thought on him or his work? Here is a site that feature samples of his work (including the Fifth); you have to scroll all the way down. Edited November 28, 2005 by Free Thinker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Thinker Posted June 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 (edited) The sample of the Fifth includes some commentary a minute or so in; you can fast forward past it. Edited November 28, 2005 by Free Thinker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Thinker Posted June 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2005 (edited) The sample of the Fifth includes some commentary at :46 seconds, you can fast forward past it to 5:06. Edited November 28, 2005 by Free Thinker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristopherSchlegel Posted July 4, 2005 Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 (edited) My high school band recently performed Shosty's Fifth Symphony, which I enjoyed playing and listening to. Any thought on him or his work? YOU played in it? What do you play?! I didn't know! I like some of his work. I enjoy some of his more 'angular' melodies & harmonic structures. He is usually quite tonal but has an interesting personal twist on traditional voice leading that I appreciate (& have been slightly influenced by). Some of his stuff, though, starts to stray a bit too far from tonal bounds for me. In the same sense, I also like some Prokofiev as well as some early Stravinksy. My fave Ruskies, though, are, of course, Tchaikovski & Rach. Edited November 28, 2005 by Free Thinker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemuel Posted July 4, 2005 Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 I like Shostakovich as well. The Fifth is great, and I've heard it a great number of times - most conductors just don't get it, though. They plow through the melodic sections way too fast, and the result is that the orchestra sees under-rehearsed. Dimitri's a heavy guy, and it takes a lot to pull of the Fifth. Festive Overture is a wonderful march for concert band and a really fun piece to play and listen to. When I was in college, it was a study piece for conducting class, and it's a blast to conduct as well. The interesting thing about Shostakovich is that, in order for him to exercise his talent and have a real career, he had to declare an allegiance to the Sovet regime. He hated supporting the communists, but was too compelled by his musical talent to stand against the Soviets. It's apparent in his music, too. Probably the best example (that I've heard) is his Symphony No. 7, entitled Leningrad. It was supposed to be a piece commemorating the rise of Leningrad, but when I listen to it, I clearly hear the Fall of St. Petersburg. It's not a triumphant symphony - the end of the 4th movement is nothing less than a shriek of terror. Shostakovich's "official" music all has a similar flavor, but the music he wrote for his son (a fantastic pianist and former conductor of the New Orleans Symphony), and other so-called "minor" works, display a more benevolent sense of life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Thinker Posted July 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 YOU played in it? What do you play?! I didn't know!I play the trumpet. I like some of his work. I enjoy some of his more 'angular' melodies & harmonic structures. He is usually quite tonal but has an interesting personal twist on traditional voice leading that I appreciate (& have been slightly influenced by). Some of his stuff, though, starts to stray a bit too far from tonal bounds for me. In the same sense, I also like some Prokofiev as well as some early Stravinksy. I read in the liner notes of the recording of the fifth I was listening to a while ago that he dedicated the fifth to the "glorious Russian Socialist experiment", or something like that... Shosty didn't try to leave Russia during the Stalin's reign. My fave Ruskies, though, are, of course, Tchaikovski & Rach. I agree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free Thinker Posted July 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 I like Shostakovich as well. The Fifth is great, and I've heard it a great number of times - most conductors just don't get it, though. They plow through the melodic sections way too fast, and the result is that the orchestra sees under-rehearsed. Dimitri's a heavy guy, and it takes a lot to pull of the Fifth.I loved playing it really fast!! It got me really pumped up! I agree though that the risk of speeding up is that the woodwinds can't keep up. The interesting thing about Shostakovich is that, in order for him to exercise his talent and have a real career, he had to declare an allegiance to the Sovet regime. He hated supporting the communists, but was too compelled by his musical talent to stand against the Soviets. It's apparent in his music, too. Probably the best example (that I've heard) is his Symphony No. 7, entitled Leningrad. It was supposed to be a piece commemorating the rise of Leningrad, but when I listen to it, I clearly hear the Fall of St. Petersburg. It's not a triumphant symphony - the end of the 4th movement is nothing less than a shriek of terror. Shostakovich's "official" music all has a similar flavor, but the music he wrote for his son (a fantastic pianist and former conductor of the New Orleans Symphony), and other so-called "minor" works, display a more benevolent sense of life. Interesting...thanks for the heads up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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