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Shostakovich
Category: Musician or composer
I have not provided a great deal of detail on Shostakovich - the Oliver Sacks observation will show you why - the source of his inspiration is described. The following comes directly from Wikipedia
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich ( 1906 – 1975) was a Soviet Russian composer and pianist and a prominent figure of 20th century music.
He achieved fame in the Soviet Union under the patronage of Soviet chief of staff Mikhail Tukhachevsky, but later had a complex and difficult relationship with the government. Nevertheless, he received accolades and state awards and served in the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (1947–1962) and the USSR (from 1962 until death).
After a period influenced by Sergei Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky, Shostakovich developed a hybrid style, as exemplified by Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (1934). This single work juxtaposed a wide variety of trends, including the neo-classical style (showing the influence of Stravinsky) and post-Romanticism (after Gustav Mahler). Sharp contrasts and elements of the grotesque characterize much of his music.
Shostakovich's orchestral works include 15 symphonies and six concerti. His chamber output includes 15 string quartets, a piano quintet, two piano trios, and two pieces for string octet. His piano works include two solo sonatas, an early set of preludes, and a later set of 24 preludes and fugues. Other works include three operas, several song cycles, ballets, and a substantial quantity of film music.
Shostakovich was in many ways an obsessive man: according to his daughter he was "obsessed with cleanliness"; he synchronised the clocks in his apartment; he regularly sent cards to himself to test how well the postal service was working. Elizabeth Wilson's Shostakovich: A Life Remembered (1994 edition) indexes 26 references to his nervousness. Mikhail Druskin remembers that even as a young man the composer was "fragile and nervously agile". Yuri Lyubimov comments, "The fact that he was more vulnerable and receptive than other people was no doubt an important feature of his genius". In later life, Krzysztof Meyer recalled, "his face was a bag of tics and grimaces".
If you read the Oliver Sacks observation you will find out why. Poor man.
Observations
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- Shostakovich - Oliver Sacks on the source of Shostakovich's inspiration
- Shostakovich - "Tea for two"
- Shostakovich - Ballet Suite No. 1 - Dance
- Shostakovich - Ballet Suite No. 1 - Galop
- Shostakovich - Ballet Suite No. 1 - Lyric Waltz
- Shostakovich - Ballet Suite No. 1 - Polka
- Shostakovich - Ballet Suite No. 1 - Romance
- Shostakovich - Ballet Suite No. 1 - Waltz-Scherzo
- Shostakovich - Ballet Suite No. 2 - Adagio
- Shostakovich - Ballet Suite No. 2 - Finale
- Shostakovich - Ballet Suite No. 2 - Polka
- Shostakovich - Ballet Suite No. 2 - Romance
- Shostakovich - Ballet Suite No. 2 - Spring Waltz
- Shostakovich - Ballet Suite No. 2 - Waltz
- Shostakovich - Piano Concerto No. 1: II. Lento
- Shostakovich - Piano Concerto No. 1: III. Moderato
- Shostakovich - Piano Concerto No. 2: II. Andante
- Shostakovich - Romance (from The Gadfly)
- Shostakovich - Second Waltz