Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich

Biography

Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (25 September 1906, Saint Petersburg, Russia – 9 August 1975, Moscow, Russia) was a Russian composer who lived under the Soviet regime.

Shostakovich had a complex and difficult relationship with the Soviet government, suffering two official denunciations of his music, in 1936 and 1948, and the periodic banning of his work. Shostakovich's response to official criticism and, more importantly, the question of whether he used music as a kind of abstract dissidence is a matter of dispute. It is clear that outwardly he conformed to government policies and positions, reading speeches and putting his name to articles expressing the government line. It is also generally agreed that he disliked the regime, a view confirmed by his family and his letters to Isaak Glikman.

Shostakovich prided himself on his orchestration, which is clear, economical, and well-projected. This aspect of Shostakovich's technique owes more to Gustav Mahler than Rimsky-Korsakov. His unique approach to tonality involved the use of modal scales and some astringent neo-classical harmonies à la Hindemith and Prokofiev. His music frequently includes sharp contrasts and elements of the grotesque.

His most popular works are his 15 symphonies and 15 string quartets. His works for piano include 2 piano sonatas, an early set of preludes, and a later set of 24 preludes and fugues. Other works include two operas, six concertos, and a substantial quantity of film music.

Works for Winds

Adaptable Music

• Waltz No. 2 (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Brown) (post 1956/2021)

All Wind Works

• Allegro from "Symphony No. 10" (tr. Fisher) (1954/2010)
• Ballet Suite #4 (arr. Pappajohn) (1953)
• Batterie from "The Nose" (arr. Schaefer) (1928/1978)
• Concertino (orch. Singleton) (1953/)
• Dance I. See: Jazz Suite No. 2
• Ein Volksfest (arr. Rembach) (1955/1995)
• Ein Volksfest. See: Folk Festival
• Excerpts from "Symphony No. 5" Finale (arr. Longfield) (1937/2007)
• Festive Overture (arr. Frost) (1954/2016)
• Festive Overture (tr. Hunsberger) (1954/1965)
• Festive Overture (tr. Martin) (1954/2016?)
• Festive Overture (tr. Patterson) (1954/)
• Festive Overture (tr. Takahashi) (1954/1998)
• The Fire of Eternal Glory (tr. Timothy Rhea) (1960/2011)
• Fire of Eternal Glory (arr. Curnow) (1960/2011)
• Folk Dances (tr. Reynolds) (1942/1979)
• Folk Dances (arr. Erickson) (1942/1979)
• Folk Dances (arr. Curnow) (1942/2000)
• Folk Festival (tr. Hunsberger) (1955/1971)
• Folk Festival. See also: Ein Volksfest
• Fortinbras March from "Hamlet" (tr. Suchoff) (1932/1967)
• The Gadfly (1955/)
• The Gadfly (tr. Patterson) (1955/)
• Galop (tr. Hunsberger) (1959/1971)
• Galop (from "The Limpid Stream") (tr. Miller) (1935)
• Hamlet Suite (tr. Suchoff) (1964/1975)
• Intermezzo (arr. Cahn) (1928/1986/1994)
• Jazz Suite No. 1 (1934)
• Jazz Suite No. 2 (arr. de Meij) (post-1956/1994)
  • March (arr. de Meij) (post-1956/1994)
  • Lyric Waltz (arr. de Meij) (post-1956/1995)
  • Dance I (arr. de Meij) (post-1956/1994)
  • Dance II (arr. de Meij) (post-1956/1994)
  • Waltz No. 2 (arr. de Meij) (post-1956/1994)
  • Finale (arr. de Meij) (post-1956/1994)
• March (arr. Curnow) (2014)
• March (arr. de Meij). See: Jazz Suite No. 2
• March of the Soviet Militia (ed. Iakubov) (1970/2006)
• October, Op 131 (arr. Mitchell) (1967)
• Overture on Russian and Kirg (arr. Janssen)
• Overture on Russian and Kirghiz Folk Songs (tr. Duker) (1963/1989)
• Overture to "The Gadfly" (arr. Geert Flik) (1955/2006)
• Piano Concerto No 2 (tr. Pontini) (1957/2012)
• Piano Concerto No 2 in F Major (arr. Bamonte)
• Piano Trio No. 2 (arr. Graham)
• Priest and His Servant Balda, The (1934)
• Prelude, Op. 34, No. 14 (arr. Reynolds) (1988)
• Prelude 21 and Fugue 1 (arr. McCullough) (1952/)
• Prelude (Variations) from "Ballet Suite No. 4" (arr. Blankenship) (1953/)
• Romance (arr. Peel) (1955/1985)
• Spanish Dance from "The Gadfly" (arr. Curnow)
• Suite for Jazz Orchestra no. 1. See: Jazz Suite No. 1
• Symphony No. 1 (tr. Scarbrough) (1924-25)
• Symphony No. 5, Mvmt I (tr. Schaeffer)
• Symphony No. 5, Mvmt II (tr. Smith) (1937/1944)
• Symphony No. 5: Finale (tr. Righter) (1937/1947)
• Symphony No. 5, Mvmt IV (tr. Rogers) (1937/2003)
• Symphony No. 5, Mvmt IV (tr. Bocook) (1937/2005)
• Symphony No. 9 (arr. Mertens and Suykerbuyk) (1945/1986)
• Symphony No. 9 (tr. Schaefer) (1945/1976)
• Symphony No. 10, Mvt. II (tr. Fisher) (tr. Fisher) (1954/2010)
• Symphony No. 10, Mvmt II (tr. O'Brien) (1954)
• Symphony No. 11: Second Movement Excerpts (arr. Daehn) (1957/1989)
• Tahiti Trot (tr. Brubaker) (1927/2009)
• Three Symphonic Preludes (arr. Reed)
• Two Scarlatti Pieces (1928)
• Waltz No. 2 (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Brown) (post 1956/2021)
• Waltz No. 2 (arr. Connery) (post 1956/1996)
• Waltz No. 2 (arr. Curnow) (post 1956/2010)
• Waltz No. 2 (arr. De Meij). See: Jazz Suite No. 2

Resources

• Miles, Richard B. 2000. Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. Volume 3. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 481.
• Volkov, Solomon. (1979). Testimony. New York: Harper & Row, Inc.