Date/Place of Birth:

25 September, 1906 in St. Peterburg, Russia

Personality:

A not-very-tall, slim, shy and serious man with reputedly habits: chain-smoking and extreme nervousness. There are two descriptions of the composer's personality as following: "...He (Shostakovich) is thinner, taller, younger than expected - boyish looking; he is the shyest and most nervous man I have ever seen. He chews his nails; with uncontrolled trembling hands and mouth & chin; stammers when confronted with strangers; chain smokes; and adjusts his spectacles constantly. He has a strange habit of staring, too, and he would turn guiltily away when caught..." Robert Craft, American conductor/musicologist "Facing tremedous ovation, he clutches nervously for the hand of conductor/soloist, clumsily takes his bow to the audience and then leaves the hall immediately." During the première of Shostakovich's 2nd cello concerto performed by Mstislav Rostropovich However, with his close friends, Shostakovich was more relaxed, very talkative and sometimes burst out laughing. And yet he was such a laconic, witty and ironic man that he was never escaped from being contradicted, condemned and misunderstood, particularly by the Soviet leaders. Besides composing and performing his own works in public, Shostakovich was an active professor of composition at the Leningrad Conservatoire, who readily helped and encouraged his students to compose with much freedom. In my opinion, Shostakovich was one of the most intriguing man to know.

Piano-Playing Style:

Though Shostakovich did not establish his career as a piano virtuoso, he played piano exceptionally well. As a student, he learned to play Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Brahms etc. He was considered to have an impeccable musical depth and memory. His performance at his graduation recital of 1923 was reviewed by the journal 'Zhizn Iskusstva' (Art Life) as following: "The young pianist-composer Dmitri Shostakovich's recital was ultimately impressive. He played the Liszt transcription of Bach organ Prelude and Fugue in A minor, the formidable Beethoven Appasionata Sonata and his own piano works (i.e. Variations, Preludes and Fantastic Dances) - all with a self-determined clarity of artistic interpretation. His own works revealed his serious musical thought and his reputation as a professional composer" Since then, the young Shostakovich worked as a part-time piano player for silent movies at the 'Bright Reel' Theatre in order to support his poor, fatherless family. It was, as he related to his friends, a dreadfully boring and tiresome experience. In the middle age, he devoted most of his time to composing while teaching composition at the Conservatoire for a living. And yet, he managed to première his own works as a soloist (i.e. his 2nd piano sonata, 2nd piano trio, piano quintet etc.) and accompanist (i.e. his 'Song Cycle From Jewish Folk-Poetry'); which proved that he was a remarkable pianist.

Music:

Shostakovich was one of the Russian composers living in terror of his life under the fearsome, totalitarian Stalinism and horrors of war, executions and chaotic riots. Consequently, he was so conscious of his environment that he conveyed the excruciating sufferings and mourning of Soviet people, tragedies, violence in street demonstrations, military assaults, ruthless executions by Stalinists etc. Hopelessly, Shostakovich used music as a medium to express his anger; sympathy for victims killed in the war/street riots; his own sufferings from unjust contempt and misunderstanding; and strong protest against Stalinism. Besides, he also showed his mockery of the Soviet leaders ironically (i.e. happiness and excitement in his music is actually a 'mask' concealing painful emotions behind it) and satirically (i.e. in my opinion, the 2nd movement of his 5th Symphony is trying to criticize the Soviet government of their faults in a humorous manner). Therefore, his music is declared as 'Soviet Realism'. Since his music sounds very modern and usually pessimistic, he was condemned severely as his music violated the Soviet leaders' criteria (i.e. music must be optimistic, music must have a grand, happy ending; music must not be too 'modern' or 'dissonant'; music must represent a Soviet musical culture and not influence from Western culture etc.) He had been handcuffed because of his "offensive" opera, Lady MacBeth of the Mtensk District. Since then, he was forced to compose a 'grand, happy' ending for his 5th Symphony, which was deceptive enough that the Soviet leaders forgave him willingly. His late music is darker, more mysterious, personal and even contains images of death. All the characteristics mentioned above are found in his works, not only his important symphonies, but also his concertos, chamber music and piano works like 24 Preludes and Fugues etc. In conclusion, Shostakovich was arguably among the greatest 20th Century composers ever lived in Russia.

Composing Habit:

Before Stalin came to power, Shostakovich and most Russian composers had much freedom in expressing their innermost feelings in their music. His early works showed the influence of Post-Romantic music, particularly Mahler's symphonies. In his middle age, his composing style changed from post-romantic to "modern" as influenced by the Constructivist art that is futuristic and highly original in machine-inspired textures - therefore, his music sounds extremely bold, unique and highly eccentric. Besides, his compositions showed an unity with a sense of classical balance and continuity, for instance, the 'DSCH' (D-E flat-C-B natural) theme appeared throughout his 10th symphony. It was all influenced by his idol, Beethoven. And yet, his piano compositions should not be neglected as his fugal writing skill was simply impeccable (i.e. his 24 Preludes op. 34, 24 Preludes and Fugues op. 87). It was common that most Russian composers composed their works at the piano. Shostakovich often played his new compositions to his colleagues and discussed with them before the works were orchestrated.

Shostakovich's Quote:

"Every composer should be able to play his own compositions at the piano" Shostakovich, it is not surprising that he always premièred his own piano compositions "I shall never forget that event - a boy was brutally killed by a Cossack with his sabre" The young Shostakovich who witnessed a horrible sight of street riot; his 2nd & 12th Symphonies described this tragedy "Beethoven was a revolutionary. If you read his letters, you will realize how much he wished to arouse the public by his new musical ideas" Shostakovich

Shostakovich's Death:

In late years, Shostakovich still managed to compose enthusiatically despite his deteriorating health (i.e. his viola sonata was among his last compositions). Finally, the great Russian composer died of a heart attack in the Kremlin hospital on 9th August, 1975, at the age of 69. The following is a description of his funeral related by one of his close friends, Solomon Volkov: "The figure who lay in the open coffin had a smile on his face - unfriendly and peaceful, as though he had escaped from all his sufferings"