jan 1, 1937 - Fifth Symphony

Description:

Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony.

Contested Readings: The Fifth Symphony
1. As a result of attacks from the press, Shostakovich was unsure how to go forward. The FourthSymphony was withdrawn and would not be heard until twenty-five years later.
2. He quickly wrote the Fifth Symphony, and it is structured rather traditionally.
3. The “grotesque and satirical” aspects that characterized his earlier pieces are missing
here.
4. The symphony was well received by the establishment, and Shostakovich moved back
into their good graces.
5. The symphony was seen as a formal retraction by the composer, and he seemed to
support that belief.
6. At least one critic found the slow movement to be too pessimistic, but noted that the finale lifted the symphony above the despair suggested in the earlier part.
7. This attitude opened the door for alternative readings of the symphony—especially one
that finds the glory in the earlier movements and the tragedy in the final one.
8. This is indeed the case with instrumental music: We do not know exactly what the composer intended.
9. Nonetheless, the Fifth Symphony redeemed Shostakovich.
a. His Seventh Symphony, “Leningrad,” was begun during the German siege of that city.
b. It became one of the most important pieces of contemporary classical music.
10. Later, several of his works remained unpublished until Stalin’s death in 1953.

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