Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich

Many things were written about Dmitri Shostakovich. But it seems that for the West it will be always a discussion rather to accept him as soviet composer, pro Stalinist and socialist, or accept him as a dissident who was against the regime. The difficulty of finding the answer for this crucial question for a better understanding of Shostakovich musical legacy is the fact, that composer’s reality itself didn’t admit the truth to be shown. So everything that I know and I can share about can be attacked with the argument of making a personal speculation due to personal experience. But how do you explain to someone that a major, dancing tune it is not exactly something shiny and joyful. How can you understand when a musician from Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra once told Shostakovich his admiration about the Eight Symphony in the transition to the Finale, where two clarinets play a long modulating passage, as if fumbling in the dark, and then at long last, before the bassoon solo, the music resolves into C major like a ray of sunlight. And Shostakovich replied, “My dear friend, if you only knew how much blood that C major cost me”. That’s many time the difficulty with which I had to deal during my music career if I have the opportunity to perform or discuss Shostakovich music with people who didn’t experienced the fear of thinking, breathing, looking, feeling, with people who didn’t experienced the fear of being alive; with people who don’t know that if you want to survive you should learn to scream with the fist in your mouth.

Today Shostakovich’s music became very popular; there is no festival or concert season without a performance of his work. His personality proved a powerful moral influence on his contemporaries as it does today. During the hard and cruel era of Stalinism, he had the courage to express in his music the misery of his people by means of an extraordinary dramatic feeling, and to denounce the hidden forces which were then eliminating millions of human lives. His music became a moral support for all who were persecuted. Belief in the final victory of justice, instilled through his works, transformed his music into a powerful stimulus to the spirit of resistance and freedom. My sorrowful idea about his popularity it’s the fact that today the world is far away of being a place were freedom and justice reign.

As resultant I decided to make a translation of a Russian critic Leonid Ginsburg’s article about the First Cello Concerto edited in 1959 in the journal “Soviet Culture” short after the creation of the creation of the piece. The best way to answer the dilemma about Shostakovich’s posture it is to read this article at the same time of hearing the Concerto. A careful reader will notice where the “fist its put in the mouth” and the music will give the answer; the “truth” is inside there. As Schopenhauer once said "Music does not express this or that particular and definite joy, this or that sorrow, or pain, or horror, or delight, or merriment, or peace of mind; but joy, sorrow, pain, horror, delight, merriment, peace of mind themselves, to a certain extent in the abstract, their essential nature, without accessories, and therefore without their motives. Yet we completely understand them in this extracted quintessence”

Bibliography: “Shostakovich, a life remembered” by Elisabeth Wilson (Faber and Faber) “The new Shostakovich by Ian MacDonald (Northeastern University Press)

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Cello Concerto N°1 in Es-dur Op.107, by Dmitri Shostakovich

By Leonid Ginsburg(Translated by Makcim Fernandez Samodaiev)

The Concert for cello and orchestra in Es-dur, op. 107 by Dimitri Shostakovich was written in the summer of 1959, but the idea of it creation was thought few years before. “The first impulse for writing this work -explained the artist when he conclude the work- was my acknowledgment with the Symphony-Concertante for cello and orchestra by Sergei Prokofiev. This work interested me very much and I decided to try my skills in this genre”. The creative work of the composer had been an achievement: the cello repertoire enriched with a new stunning composition which at the same level of Prokofiev’s Symphony-Concertante, belongs to the best creations of this genre.

The Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto it is an outstanding work of the concert-symphonic music; by his deep content and perfect form, by its exclusive mastery of realization of clear multiphasetical characters, by it symphonic development the Cello Concerto it is standing together with such creations as the Tenth’s Symphony or the Concert for Violin and Orchestra.

Like the Violin concerto (op.99) the Shostakovich Concerto for Cello it is a work which contains a big amount of ideas and feelings and therefore it has a peculiar form, masterly used means of expressions, innovation in the instrumentation.

Like other best concertos of soviet composers, the work of Shostakovich, belongs at this direction of this genre called by B. Asafiev “concert-symphonic”.

The content of the concerto it is accepted by public like deeply alive and dramatically. It is interesting that for its realization it was enough the sources expressive of the cello solo and an orchestra without trumpets and trombones and just with one horn. At the same time the author doesn’t do any concessions neither to the limitations of sound of the cello solo part, or the relative small orchestra, everything sounds with fullness, attracting with the richness of timbres and dynamical colors.

The originality of the construction consist in the fact that, the second, third and fourth part, followed by attacca, are connected with each other creating an organical total. It is the slow part (the “lyrical center” of the work), solo cadenza-recitative, and the final. The impression of the total it is also created by the use of relative tonalities and the similar musical images used thru the cycle.

The main theme of the first movement (Allegretto, Es-dur), written in the sonata allegro form, it is the main character of the work; transfigured it appears also in the finale, confirming in this way the unity of artistic-ideological thought. This theme appears with the recurring questioning leitmotiv:

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It’s impossible not to remark it similarity with other works of Dmitri Shostakovich, especially with the second theme of the Violin Concerto. But if in the Violin Concerto this theme it’s brought as light, lyrical-expecting, the main theme of the Cello Concerto ( the cello solo introduce it in the first bar without the traditional orchestral tutti) it is marked by inner nervousness and drama which give extensive possibilities that the author exploit in full range, realizing his artistical aim.

The main theme develops slowly and persistent based on the emotional-dynamical growth. At the moment when it reaches a considerable tension, appears the second theme in c-minor. It is induced with powerful rhythmically accentuated four bars introduced by the orchestra. Than in the background of a continuous obstinate movement of the introduction theme, the cello solo bring in the second theme; this a new musical image of Russian stile:

The persistent sounding of the first theme in the accompaniment during its evolution furnishes the second theme with a character of a dramatical passacaglia. Its courageous sorrow amalgamates with will and resolution; it is like if the music transmits a determination of fighting for the human being happiness. Both themes are stormily increasing during the development transforming themselves with sharp tensioned sounds, feelings which are within them, became more dynamical and receive a new illumination. The composer involves the listener in to created images life.

Dynamical recapitulation keeps the dramatical pressure characteristic for the first movement. The second theme, (against tradition written in the tonality of the first theme) at this time it’s handled by the horn while the cello solo take over the role of an accompanying orchestra (for this are used double steps and chords). Passionately sounds afterwards the same theme (second) played by the cello solo. The first theme appears again in the coda played by the cello solo. Nevertheless its dynamical color goes down till piano; its tension do not disappears, as before it sounds

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with sorrow and inquiry. But the strong will for a solution it is expressed with an abrupt fortissimo and determinate intonation from the last bars.

A meaningful contrast creates the second movement with its poetical and warm character (Moderato, a-minor). Written in a ternary form it begins with a concentrated and retained orchestral introduction; its sober character (which reminds a classical sarabanda) becomes warmer when appears emerges the closing horn phrase, introducing in to a lyrical and extended theme of Russian spirit, the cello solo its singing with a background of violas continuous line. The theme starts with a lullaby motive full of kindheartedness and empathy:

After exposing for the second time (now in F# minor) the orchestral introduction (with a sarabanda character) appears a very expressive and melodical second theme; it is different that the first theme because of its extreme emotionality and declamatory:

Association between music and intimate human speech it is underlined with the recitative-improvised cello phrases which lead us to the D Major episode.In the developing process of the second theme we hear a melodical turn, which sound familiar to the scherzo theme from the Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto. But how it transformed! Rhythmically sharp and dancing tunes from the scherzo became here lyrically insightful and touching. In the culmination of the second movement from the Cello Concerto this tunes change in to dramatical colors, and with a completely different quality, within a grotesque illumination they will reborn at the end of the Concerto. In

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this consists the strength of a master, in his lively recreated images which continue there life beyond the limits of the composition. (Let’s remember that the tunes from the mentioned scherzo found a new life in the third movement from the 10th Shostakovich’s Symphony.)

In the second movement re-exposition we find ourselves attracted by the colorful sounds from the first (lullaby) theme, performed in a dialog between the cello solo harmonics and the celesta; a Russian under voice tune it’s lying now on the violin which is played with a sourdine. Choused timbers uniqueness, gives music fairytale colors:

The third movement from the Concerto (cadenza) it is a largely developed cello monolog-recitative:

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Like in the Violin Concerto this cadenza of the soloist it’s announcing and preparing the finale. By its length and its suggestion importance (here the thematical elements from the second movement and the “leitmotiv’s” from the first part are gaining new life) it achieves it independent role within the creative whole.

Main part of the cadenza it’s build on the thematical material from the second movement and it transmits deep, reaching philosophical elevated thoughts. Richly used cello soloist technical sources (large melodical diapason, polyphony, double steps, chords, brilliant passages, left hand pizzicato used while the cellist it’s singing the main theme with the bow) facilitate music’s richness and expressiveness. With cello solo as means the composer gives lyrical singing and truly symphonic development with a deep content.The function of the development of the cadenza it’s marked by the character of rising thematical elements (it’s interesting the inclusion of the “leitmotiv” in the passage texture), and its instable tonality, and slow augmentation till tempo Allegro. In the culmination we hear like few voices: energetically passionate voice of the upper voice which is hold by the bass reply, afterwards it distorts in to short scaled passages which are struggling neither in the high or low registers. In the end of the cadenza starts the orchestra, which laconically in few chords introduces the Finale.

Finale (Allegro con moto, g-moll-Es dur), in rondo form, it brings forceful, determinate character it has a conclusion meaning despite the scherzo elements and the thematical material from the development. Here has place an energical and hasty first theme (refrain) which is exposed first by the orchestra and then by the cello solo:

In the same fast motion but with rough movement it’s written in syncopation grotesque-dancingly second theme, which appears with the soloist:

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Typical folkloric-dancing movements do not reduce the dramatical pace from development character. After the refrain repeat appears the theme from the second episode. Despite it’s also a dancing like scherzo character theme the contrast it’s reached by new musical emotion and sudden tempo changing from binary to ternary. Afterwards this episode combines with motives from the first episode.

In the moment of great tension with violence appears in the orchestra main tunes from the first movement; successively we hear them in the horns, but this is not a question any more, this is a strength and will, the dramatical resolution of the conflict.Powerful and vigorous coda, in which we hear sporadically, mixes of main themes from the concerto first and last movements, till the end it’s hold the directed rapid movement; it has a life-confirming character and its like if it realize the conclusion from the entire dramatical content of the concerto- a will for living, a victory from the fight for truth and happiness.

The music from the Cello Concerto undertakes us because in there we can feel clearly and brightly expressed the thoughts of our time, soul passion, representative for soviet people with whom the composer is living the same life, with the same aims and interests.

It is impossible to do not notice the sincerity and enthusiasm with which was written the piece. With the same sincerity and enthusiasm it’s performed this concerto by Mstislav Rostropovich, who learned it in an incredibly short period. Going through composer’s aim, with a deep understanding of it content and characters of artistical images, he (Rostropovich) masterly and inspiringly brought this concerto to the soviet listener, who with a great interest welcomed the premier of a new and incredible work of the distinguished master.*

* The premier of the concerto took place 4 and 6 October 1959 in Leningrad, with the State Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Evgeny Mravinsky; and 9 October in Moscow with the State Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra under Aleksander Gauk.

Makcim Fernandez Samodaiev M1Student KVMC

April, 2003

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