Born 1906 in St. Petersburg, Shostakovich began piano lessons at nine, three years later writing a funeral march commemorating murdered constitutional democrats. Two years after the 1917 Revolution, Shostakovich was judged “politically slow” but musically talented at the Petrograd Conservatory. The 1st Symphony premiered in May, 1926.
Success and Condemnation
Shostakovich gained international recognition at the 1927 Warsaw Piano Competition, as Bruno Walter agreed to conduct the 1st Symphony in Berlin. Shostakovich’s first opera “The Nose” opened disappointingly but, in 1934, “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" was hugely successful. The regime took great credit, implying that Soviet cultural “traditions” were integral to its creation.
Popularity was fleeting however. Stalin prematurely left a performance of the opera leading to it’s condemnation as “Muddle instead of music" in 1936. Criticism was relentless: “….listeners are stunned by the deliberately dissonant, confused stream of sounds ... singing, replaced by screaming ... the music quacks, hoots, pants and gasps….”. Disapproval intensified. Shostakovich delayed his 4th Symphony, condemned as “Chaos..” by Pravda. For two years, Shostakovich witnessed the arrest of many friends and peers during Stalin’s “Bolshaya Chistka” or Great Purge.
The Leningrad Symphony
In 1937 the 5th Symphony premiered. Officialdom approved its apolitical themes and success encouraged Shostakovich into the string quartet form. Shostakovich also began teaching at Leningrad Conservatory.
Shostakovich started his 7th Symphony “Leningrad” as war with Germany began in 1941, a monumental year for Russia. Shostakovich posed for fire warden propaganda posters and delivered a stirring patriotic radio broadcast. In October Shostakovich evacuated to Kuybishev to complete “Leningrad” a popular, inspiring work. Depicting heroic struggle against adversity, it symbolised resistance to The Nazis.
Public Humiliation of Shostakovitch
The, sombre, despairing 8th Symphony signalled a downturn in Shostakovich’s fortunes. Unlike “ Leningrad” it depicts utter hopelessness. Premiered by legendary conductor Mravinsky in 1943, the authorities’ reaction was brutal. Not uplifting or patriotic enough, the 8th was banned for 25 years. Denounced as too “formalist” in the 1948 Zhdanov Decree, and with performances restricted, Shostakovich had to publicly and humiliatingly “repent” for his actions. Shostakovich allegedly sat outside his home at night to avoid disturbing his family if arrested.
Ultimately, Shostakovich escaped the regime’s worst excesses and redeemed his tattered reputation, not least with the popular First Violin Concerto. 1949 saw restrictions lifted on Shostakovich with an American tour, sanctioned by Stalin now heaping praise on Shostakovich as a hero of “socialist realism”. With Stalin’s death in 1953, the 10th Symphony painted the dictator’s critical musical portrait. Nina Varzar’s death ended Shostakovich’s long, rocky marriage in 1954. Two further marriages followed.
The Final Years of Shostakovitch
Shostakovich’s 1960 decision to join the Communist Party was pivotal, meeting with bewilderment amongst some of Shostakovich’s musical contemporaries. Some, though not all, believed that Shostakovich was “blackmailed” into joining.
The last decade saw Shostakovich’s life plagued with illness, including terminal lung cancer. Despite this Shostakovich produced more symphonies and completed the fifteen wonderful string quartets, often regarded as the finest in the repertoire after Beethoven's. Shostakovich died in 1975.
Shostakovich’s Legacy
Shostakovich’s music cannot be divorced from the circumstances in which it was composed and performed. Despite a repressive and frequently censorious regime, particular in Stalin’s era, Shostakovich fought to maintain his independence as an authentic creative artist. Posthumous information suggests that Shostakovich remained very critical of Stalinist dictates especially in music and the arts.
Combining elements of the classical and romantic eras, and influenced strongly by the music of Bach and Mahler, Shostakovich also used comedy, biting sarcasm and irony to illuminate which often appears strikingly modern, despite its rejection of atonality and the more innovative approach of fellow 20th century composers. His superb chamber music, particularly the string quartets, and the great symphonies are his enduring epitaph.
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