Shostakovitch was a young child of about ten or eleven when the Soviets began to upsrise in 1922. Around 1928, there was unbridled enthusiasm for the Soviets to come to power. During this time, Shostakovitch was in the conservatory. Also in 1928, the five years plan was implemented by the Soviets. Under this plan, everyone worked toward goals set by the government (namely, Lenin, Stalin, and Zhdanov). This plan, however, was not successful.
During the Soviet uprising, the Union of Soviet Composers was created. Zhdanov was put in charge of this organization. Under the Union, he created a doctrine that mandated the composition of victorious, heroic, and beautiful music. The basic idea was to create a "Russian" style of music, much like the way Beethoven created a "German" style of music. This doctrine was also against folk-negating modern compositions. At the time, Russian composers had no idea how much the doctrine would ultimately limit their work.
Stalin did not get a chance to hear Shostakovitch's work until after his "great terror," in which 800,000 people were killed. "Lady MacBeth of the Mtensk District" was the opera that Stalin attended. The story was one of a loveless marriage, murder and crime - not the heroic themes that were mandated by Zhanov. Needless to say, Stalin was not amused. Fortunately for Shostakovitch, his fame was great enough at the time that he was not killed. However, on fear of death, Shostakovitch abandoned his Fourth Symphony, and instead wrote the Fifth Symphony in response to his criticism by the Soviet government. The Fifth Symphony is thick wit Russian themes, and follows in the tradition of Tchaikovsky. It is written in the style of the classical-era symphony, but is not considered neo-classic. It is truly a composition of the Russian symphonic tradition. The Fifth Symphony put Shostakovitch back in Stalin's good graces, and he was given a post in Stalingrad as the head of musical composition.
Unfortunately for Shostakovitch, Hitler decided to break the non-aggression pact with Russia, and invaded Stalingrad. During the invasion, Shostakovitch remained. When the city finally turned to a wasteland, all important people (including Shostakovitch) are evacuated. Shostakovitch moved to Leningrad shortly after, and composed the Seventh Symphony. This work is very patriotic, and symbolizes the Russian struggle over German imperialism.
In 1948, Zhdanov completely shut down all creativity of the Soviet composers. No one is completely sure why this happened. As a result, all Soviet composers were at risk of being arrested. Shostakovitch was not arrested, but lived in fear. For a while, he even slept on his front porch every night, so when the police came, it would not distress his family as much.
After 1948, Shostakovitch wrote three basic types of music. He wrote music for movies to pay the rent; symphonies to please the government; and "desk-drawer" music to express himself in a creative sense. It is through the "desk-drawer" music that we get a sense of Shostakovitch's true creative nature. If only this creativity were not suppressed by his country!
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During the Soviet uprising, the Union of Soviet Composers was created. Zhdanov was put in charge of this organization. Under the Union, he created a doctrine that mandated the composition of victorious, heroic, and beautiful music. The basic idea was to create a "Russian" style of music, much like the way Beethoven created a "German" style of music. This doctrine was also against folk-negating modern compositions. At the time, Russian composers had no idea how much the doctrine would ultimately limit their work.
Stalin did not get a chance to hear Shostakovitch's work until after his "great terror," in which 800,000 people were killed. "Lady MacBeth of the Mtensk District" was the opera that Stalin attended. The story was one of a loveless marriage, murder and crime - not the heroic themes that were mandated by Zhanov. Needless to say, Stalin was not amused. Fortunately for Shostakovitch, his fame was great enough at the time that he was not killed. However, on fear of death, Shostakovitch abandoned his Fourth Symphony, and instead wrote the Fifth Symphony in response to his criticism by the Soviet government. The Fifth Symphony is thick wit Russian themes, and follows in the tradition of Tchaikovsky. It is written in the style of the classical-era symphony, but is not considered neo-classic. It is truly a composition of the Russian symphonic tradition. The Fifth Symphony put Shostakovitch back in Stalin's good graces, and he was given a post in Stalingrad as the head of musical composition.
Unfortunately for Shostakovitch, Hitler decided to break the non-aggression pact with Russia, and invaded Stalingrad. During the invasion, Shostakovitch remained. When the city finally turned to a wasteland, all important people (including Shostakovitch) are evacuated. Shostakovitch moved to Leningrad shortly after, and composed the Seventh Symphony. This work is very patriotic, and symbolizes the Russian struggle over German imperialism.
In 1948, Zhdanov completely shut down all creativity of the Soviet composers. No one is completely sure why this happened. As a result, all Soviet composers were at risk of being arrested. Shostakovitch was not arrested, but lived in fear. For a while, he even slept on his front porch every night, so when the police came, it would not distress his family as much.
After 1948, Shostakovitch wrote three basic types of music. He wrote music for movies to pay the rent; symphonies to please the government; and "desk-drawer" music to express himself in a creative sense. It is through the "desk-drawer" music that we get a sense of Shostakovitch's true creative nature. If only this creativity were not suppressed by his country!
For more information, please click here.
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