Symphony No. 5

Now that you have a basic understanding of the composer's background, let's take a closer look at the piece. Shostakovich's fifth symphony was called "a Soviet artist's practical creative reply to just criticism.'' In your journals, justify this statement with both musical and historical evidence. Below are a few links to get you started, but please feel free to use other resources as well.

http://lasr.cs.ucla.edu/geoff/prognotes/shostakovich/symphony5.html
http://www.rpo.org/s_7/s_118/p_749/Program_Notes_-_Shostakovich%27s_Fifth/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._5_%28Shostakovich%29

Shostakovich and Soviet Russia

Please research Soviet Russia and its relationship with musicians during Shostakovich's time and be prepared to discuss in class. Below are some resources to get you started. As you research, consider the following questions and respond in your journal. How did the government impact Shostakovich's music? What is socialist realism and how does Shostakovich's music relate? Have you seen evidence in your lifetime of how musicians or other artists have been influenced by factors outside of music, whether it be politics, current events, location, etc?

Resources to get you started:
"The Art of Fear" (Chapter 7) from The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/45326
http://www.russianlife.com/article.cfm?Number=570
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/513251/Russia/38554/Soviet-Russia

Who is Dmitri Shostakovich?

Shostakovich Bio
After having read several brief biographies of Shostakovich, write in your journals a few questions you have. What sparked your interest? About what would you like to know more?

Symphony No. 5, Bernstein, NYP
Symphony No. 5, Mravinsky, Leningrad Philharmonic
Here are two links to performances Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47: IV. Allegro non troppo. Please consider the following, and write a response in your journals. After having sightread the piece in class today and hearing these recordings, what are your initial reactions? What do you hear? What caught your attention? Now that you know a little bit about Shostakovich's life, what do you think this piece might be about? Notice that these are recordings of a symphony orchestras. How do these differ from the band transcription? Did you notice anything different about the tempos at the end of the two recordings?