Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #dmitri-shostakovich, aggregated by home.social.
Shostakovich Symphony No 8 album review – composer’s cry of despair in a remarkable and resonant new recording
By Clive Paget
Frankfurt Radio Symphony/Altinoglu(Alpha)Conductor Alain Altinoglu brings weight and purpose while the instrumental solos are piquant and precise.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/oct/09/shostakovich-symphony-no-8-album-review
#Classicalmusic #Music #Culture #DmitriShostakovich #TheGuardian #ClivePaget
120 years ago today, #DmitriShostakovich, Russian #composer (The Gadfly; The Nose), born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1975).
#HappyBirthday #RIP 🥀🪦⚰️
120 years ago today, #DmitriShostakovich, Russian #composer (The Gadfly; The Nose), born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1975).
#HappyBirthday #RIP †
Absolut fantastische Performance. #IgorLevit - Dmitri #Shostakovich - Fugue No. 7 in A Major, Op 87. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDXka1oTDLA #DmitriShostakovich #OnDSCH #Klassik #Musik
Beautiful music 🎶 Thanks 🎶🎹.
Igor Levit - Dmitri Shostakovich - Prelude No. 1 in C Major, Op. 87 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XZn6amxUW8 #IgorLevit - #DmitriShostakovich #OnDSCH #Klassik #Musik
https://www.europesays.com/dk/165904/ Leningrad, which fought Berlin with drums, woos Mumbai with strings | Mumbai News #berlin #DmitriShostakovich #Germany #Leningrad #MumbaiLatestNews #MumbaiNews #MumbaiNewsLive #MumbaiNewsToday #NCPA #NewChamberStPetersburgPhilharmonicOrchestra #TodayNewsMumbai
Leningrad, which fought Berlin with drums, woos Mumbai with strings | Mumbai News
The New Chamber St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Yaroslav Zaboyarkin marksDmitri Shostakovich’s 120th birth anniversary…
#Germany #DE #Europe #EU #Europa #Berlin #DmitriShostakovich #Leningrad #Mumbailatestnews #Mumbainews #Mumbainewslive #Mumbainewstoday #NCPA #NewChamberStPetersburgPhilharmonicOrchestra #TodaynewsMumbai
https://www.europesays.com/germany/90660/
Obra de Shostakovich é dedicada às “vítimas do fascismo e da guerra”
- cijusp
https://jornal.usp.br/cultura/obra-de-shostakovich-e-dedicada-as-vitimas-do-fascismo-e-da-guerra/
#Cultura #DmitriShostakovich #FFCLRP #LucasEduardodaSilvaGalon #Msica #USPFilarmnica
On 9 Aug 1975: #DmitriShostakovich, Russian #composer (The Gadfly; The Nose), died of #lungcancer at 68.
#RIP 💐
On July 20, 1942: Time magazine features Russian composer #DmitriShostakovich on its cover.
On 19 Jul 1942: US premiere of #DmitriShostakovich's 7th Symphony in NYC by the NBC Symphony Orchestra under #ArturoToscanini in a concert broadcast nationwide on NBC radio.
95 years ago today, #DmitriShostakovich's ballet "The Arrow" premieres.
On 2 Apr 1944: #DmitriShostakovich's 8th Symphony premieres in NY.
Nearly an interview with Galina Ustvolskaya, 1995
'Frau, Frau, Frau!‘ she interrupts Suslin.
Crestfallen, he looks at her: what shall he say? – Her name is, bless her eyes, GALINA!'
https://theaderks.wordpress.com/2026/02/23/galina-ustvolskaya-sind-sie-mir-nicht-bose-very-nearly-an-interview/ #DmitriShostakovich, #GalinaUstvolskaya, #ReinbertDeLeeuw, #ValeryGergiev, #ViktorSuslin
On the 24th of March 1934: #DmitriShostakovich's Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 1 premieres in Leningrad, USSR.
85 years ago today, Russian composer and pianist #DmitriShostakovich receives the Stalin Prize.
On 24 January 1934: #DmitriShostakovich's opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" is performed in Moscow; roundly criticized by the Communist Party and banned in the Soviet Union until 1961.
Boulanger, Shostakovich and Rimsky-Korsakov at the National Concert Hall
It was a great pleasure last night to be able to attend my first concert of 2026 at the National Concert Hall. It was a rainy evening in Dublin, but the auditorium was nevertheless packed. The only issue was that so many people were there, mostly with overcoats checked into the cloakroom, that it took a long time to get out at the end!
Before the performanceNational Symphony Orchestra Ireland was conducted for the evening by guest conductor Anna Sułkowska-Migoń who directed a fine and varied programme of music.
The first piece (D’un Soir Triste; Of a Sand Evening) was by Lili Boulanger. I’ve heard a few pieces by her and found them all excellent, as was this one which is very atmospheric and packs a lot into the 12 minutes or so it takes to perform. The only reason Lili Boulanger is so much less famous than her older syster Nadia is that Lili suffered from ill health nearly all her life, eventually dying from tuberculosis just a few months after this piece was composed at the age of 24. Inevitably the number of compositions by her is very small, but as I said earlier everything I’ve heard by her is very good indeed. Her premature tragic death was a great loss.
After that piece there was considerable reorganization on the stage. The brass, woodwinds and percussion all left and space was made for the Steinway (between the conductor and the audience). Then we were joined by pianist Barry Douglas and trumpeter Darren Moore. The latter brough two trumpets with him, actually, of which more shortly.
The piece we were about to hear was listed in the programme as Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and String Orchestra (which is a more accurate description than the usual name Piano Concerto No. 1) by Dmitri Shostakovich. It’s quite hard to classify really, perhaps you could call it a Triple Concerto, but that doesn’t matter much. Music is much more important than how it is classified.
Although I admire the music of Shostakovich greatly, and look out for performances whenever I can, I had never heard this piece before. I was delighted by it. Written in 1933 when Shostakovich was only 27, it is instantly recognisable in style although I bit lighter and quirkier than one normally expects from that composer. Shostakovich had a wry sense of humour, but he often concealed his jokes to avoid getting into trouble. Not so in this piece, which is overtly playful and mischievous, rather than crypic
The trumpet plays a modest – indeed muted – part early on but, over the four movements, gradually becomes more prominent and at the end it delivers a series of exuberant fanfare-like figures as the key switches from C minor to close in C major. At this point I should given special mention to Darren Moore, Principal Trumpet of the NSOI, who played beautifully. He swtiched trumpets just before the end, where the trumpet is required to be louder and more assertive. I’m going to hazard a guess that he switched to a C trumpet for the closing stages, perhaps from a standard B♭ trumpet used earlier. I’ve heard it said that a C trumpet produces a brighter and cleaner sound, and it certainly did sound different from the other trumpet. If I am right it means that the piece concluded with none of the instruments on stage being transposing instruments.
Now a couple of questions for my readers. I have known some jazz trumpeters over the years and they all played B♭ trumpets. On this basis I always assumed that trumpets in classical orchestras would be B♭ instruments. Now I’m not sure this is true. Do trumpet players in classical orchestras usually use B♭ instruments, or does practice vary? A follow-up question is whether orchestral parts for trumpets and other transposing instruments are scored differently, or are the musicians required to do any transposition themselves? (If I had to bet I’d wager that professionally-trained classical musicians can transpose on sight.) Answers and comments through the comments box please.
Anyway, the hugely enjoyable performance was greeted with cheers and generous applause not only for the excellent soloists Barry Douglas and Darren Moore but for the whole Orchestra.
After the wine break we had a much more familiar work, the orchestral suite Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Pieces from this suite – especially the first section, The Sea and Sindbad’s Ship – often find their way into collections of popular classics and it is probably Rimsky Korsakov’s greatest hit. It’s inspired by the One Thousand and One Nights although there are only four movements, not 1001! The composer certainly included something for all sections of the orchestra, but there was especially beautiful playing by Elaine Clark (leader). I enjoyed this performance too, mainly as a bit of colourful escapism as did the audience, who have it another standing ovation.
Then it was into the queue to collect my coat and thence on foot to Pearse station for the train back to Maynooth. The rain had stopped by then.
#AnnaSułkowskaMigoń #BarryDouglas #ConcertoForPianoTrumpetAndStringOrchestra #DUnSoirTriste #DarrenMoore #DmitriShostakovich #ElaineClark #LiliBoulanger #NationalConcertHall #NationalSymphonyOrchestraIreland #NikolaiRimskyKorsakov #Scheherazade #Sheherazarde
#OnThisDay in 1958, #DmitriShostakovich' 2nd Piano Concerto has US premiere, with #LeonardBernstein as soloist and conductor of the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie hall in NYCs in NY.
#OnThisDay in 1974, #DmitriShostakovich' song cycle "Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buonarroti" premieres in Leningrad.
#OnThisDay in 1953, Premiere of #DmitriShostakovich' 5th String Quartet in Leningrad.
#OnThisDay in 1938, #DmitriShostakovich's Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2 premieres in Moscow, USSR.
#OnThisDay in 1937, #DmitriShostakovich's 5th Symphony premieres in Lenningrad, with the ovation lasting over an hour.
Clyne, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich at the National Concert Hall
It had been over a month since my last visit to the National Concert Hall in Dublin so I was happy to be able to attend this week’s Friday night concert last night. It was great to see that the venue was very full too. I think that was at least partly down to the fact that one of the pieces featured Irish violinist Mairéad Hickey who has a sizeable local following. Conductor for the evening with National Symphony Orchestra Ireland was Anna Rakitina (who was born in Russia).
The concert began with a short piece by Anna Clyne called Restless Oceans. This is an energetic and an excellent way to get the orchestra revved up for the rest of the evening. I’d never heard this work before and I think it must be the first time I’ve seen a performance in which the string section sang or hummed a wordless accompaniment in one part and, in another, the whole orchestra provided extra percussion by stamping their feet.
After that zesty appetiser, Mairéad Hickey appeared on stage, resplendent in a green dress, to perform the first course proper, the Violin Concerto by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. This is a familiar work but it was ravishingly played by Mairéad Hickey, who seem to revel in the virtuosic elements of this work, as well as bringing out the lyricism in the more romantic passages. The only things I don’t like about this composition are the gratuitously showy cadenzas which go on far too long, in my opinion. The audience clearly loved the performance, though, as did I, and we were treated to an encore in the form of some traditional Irish fiddle playing which was lovely.
After the wine break, we had the main dish for the evening, the Symphony No. 5 by Dmitri Shostakovich. This is a very famous work and one of the higlights of the entire symphonic repertoire. It is also perhaps the most accessible of all the Shostakovich symphonies. It was an immediate success with Soviet critics and public alike when it was first performed in 1937, and though it marked Shostakovich’s return to favour with the authorities after his denunciation by Stalin, this work has the composer’s very characteristic sense of things not being quite as they seem on the surface. Indeed, in this and many other of his compositions, seems to manage to say one thing at the same time as saying the exact opposite of that thing; nowadays this might be called `constructive ambiguity’. This is especially true in the finale, in which the sense of triumph it ostensibly portrays seems rather forced, so it approaches a parody of itself. This tension between possible interpretations gives the piece a palpable sense of danger.
Overall the Fifth Symphony is a sombre work, the dark undertone established right at the start with an imposing theme on the cellos and double basses, but it has passages of great beauty too, especially in the slow third movement. Like all great symphonies – and this is one of the greatest – it takes you on a journey full of of excitement and interest. It was a compelling performance by the NSOI, with outstanding playing by the whole orchestra, but especially the woodwinds.The 45 minutes or so of this performance seemed to fly by. It’s ending ending was greeted with rapturous applause and a standing ovation from many in the audience.
It’s interesting to consider that only 60 years had elapsed between the composition of these pieces by Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich, but what different musical worlds they represent!
#AnnaClyne #AnnaRikitina #DmitriShostakovich #MairéadHickey #NationalSymphonyOrchestraIreland #PyotrIlyichTchaikovsky #RestlessOceans #ShostakovichSymphonyNo5 #TchaikovskyViolinConcerto
#DmitriShostakovich 1906 – 1975
#Suite for Two Pianos in F Sharp minor Op.6 (1922)
1. Prelude in F sharp minor (Andantino)
2. Fantastic Dance in A minor (Allegro vivo)
3. Nocturne in D major (Andante)
4. Finale in F sharp minor (Adagio – Allegro molto)
#SabrinaAlberti #Piano
#LuisaFantiZurkowskaja #Piano
#classicalmusic #musik #music #musique #musica #Shostakovich #Шостакович
#DmitriShostakovich 1906 – 1975
#PianoTrio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67 (1943-44)
#MarthaArgerich #Piano
#EdgarMoreau #Cello
#Renaud Capuçon #Violin
#classicalmusic #musik #music #musique #musica #Shostakovich #Шостакович
current musical mood is shostakovich's string quartet 8
shit's rough!
Shostakovich 50 at the National Concert Hall
Last night’s concert at the National Concert Hall in Dublin was billed Shostakovich 50 because 2025 marks the 50th anniversity of the death in 1975 of Dmitri Shostakovich, whose First Symphony was performed after the interval, by the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of guest conductor John Storgårds. As you can see, though, the programme was quite varied and no fewer than three other composers were represented.
The first piece was The Oceanides, tone poem by Jean Sibelius intended to evoke the sea nymphs of Greek mythology. It’s quite a short piece – only eleven minutes in performance – but full of movement, suggesting the ebb-and-flow of the sea and its different moods, from tranquil to stormy. Its place on the programme made it a good workout for the orchestra and a wonderful starter to whet their appetite of the audience for the rest of the menu.
After that appetizer we had a performance of the Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninov with soloist Yukine Kuroki at the piano. This piece comprises a set of 24 variations on a them from one of Paganini’s caprices for solo violin. The Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini is piece full of contrasts: sometimes pyrotechnical, sometimes lyrical. My favourite section is the 18th variation, in which a lovely romantic melody emerges and is picked up by the whole orchestra in a manner that’s very characteristic of Rachmaninov. This tune is just an inversion of the theme transposed into a different key and slowed down.
The Rachmaninov alone was worth the cost of the ticket. I was amazed how pianist Yukine Kuroki coped with the technical challenges of this work but also how she managed to generate so much power for a person of such slight build. Rachmaninov himself was quite a large man who had hands like shovels, so his work often places difficult demands on a soloist. Not last night, though, as Yukine Kuroki not only played with great accomplishment but also clearly enjoyed herself. In the passages during which the piano was not playing she was bouncing up and down and tapping her feet waiting for her cue. It was lovely to watch as well as to listen to. I’ll also mention that she was wearing a gorgeous one-shoulder dress with a vivid red colour.
After the wine break interval we returned for a piece that was new to me, the Symphony No. 3 ‘White Interment’ by Ukrainian composer Victoria Vita Polyova. This is described a symphony, but it doesn’t have the traditional structure in terms of movements. It has instead a rather static structure, consisting of thematic blocks based on a poem Now always snows. It’s a sombre and rather minimalist piece, with little of the development you would expect from a true symphony, but the sound world it creates is layered in interesting ways. I enjoyed the performance.
And finally we have the Symphony No. 1 by Dmitri Shostakovich which I don’t think I had heard in concert before. The most astonishing thing about this work was that he wrote it as a graduation piece for the St Petersburg Conservatory. Its first performance was in 1926, when the composer was only 19. It is a substanial work over four movements (the last two played without interruption) and there are passages within it in which you can see that he had already found much of the distinct voice that he used in his later compositions. This piece isn’t really reminiscent of any other composers, either.
The performance was excellent, with particularly strong work by the woodwinds and brass. It was very well received by the NCH audience which is always very generous with its applause.
#DmitriShostakovich #JeanSibelius #JohnStorgårds #NationalConcertHall #RhapsodyOnAThemeByPaganini #SergeiRachmaninov #ShostakovichSymphonyNo1 #TheOceanides #YukineKuroki
#DmitriShostakovich 1906 – 1975
#Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 10 (1924–1925)
I. Allegretto – Allegro non troppo
II. Allegro
III. Lento
IV. Allegro molto – Lento – Allegro molto – Presto
#hrSinfonieorchester
#PaavoJärvi
#classicalmusic #musik #music #musique #musica #Shostakovich #Шостакович
Chostakovitch : Concerto pour violoncelle n°1 en mi bémol majeur op 107 ... https://youtube.com/watch?v=5R1fUt5VtwA&si=VSK-UQND83w-LsDh
#ClassicalMusic
#CelloConcerto
#DmitriShostakovich
Shostakovich: String Quartets, Volume 3
https://youtube.com/watch?v=0WqxZVkiXds&si=jyPDxQVMp6p7XByO
#ClassicalMusic
#QuartetNoūs
#DmitriShostakovich
#DmitriShostakovich 1906 – 1975
#StringQuartet No. 12 in D flat major, Op. 133 (1968)
1. Moderato
2. Allegretto
#classicalmusic #musik #music #musique #musica #Shostakovich #Шостакович
Shostakovich plays his Piano Quintet in G minor Op. 57
https://youtube.com/watch?v=QMezpq_V8ss&si=h8UgK5-bt_tR_LK9
#ClassicalMusic
#PianoQuintet
#BeethovenQuartet
#DmitriShostakovich #Piano #Composer
Musical Interlude: How about some classical? It's hard to feel bouncy and upbeat today...I feel like something a little stormy...
"Cello Concerto No. 1," composed by Dimitri Shostakovich, performed by the Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE, Sol Gabetta on cello.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG0laIxC0Lo
#MusicalInterlude #classicalmusic #DmitriShostakovich #Cello #Concerto
Rock on, Shostakovich, Handel, Ravel: lives of great composers hit the screens https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jun/02/shostakovich-handel-ravel-lives-of-great-composers-biopics #WolfgangAmadeusMozart #GeorgeFridericHandel #DmitriShostakovich #ChristopherHampton #Classicalmusic #RichardWagner #Television #Culture #Music #Film
Watch "Symphony No.14 in G minor - Dmitri Shostakovich" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/zR6Dn30gfdk?si=DyWDYq5eBAPlAPHP
#ClassicalMusic
#DmitriShostakovich