Dmitri Shostakovich September 25, 1906- August 9, 1975

1
Dmitri ShostakovichSeptember 25, 1906- August 9,
1975

• Born in St. Petersburg, Russia
• Family very liberal
• Child prodigy (piano and comp)
• Age 13- entered St. Petersburg
• Conservatory
• Academically successful
• Suffered for lack of political enthusiasm
• First Symphony written as graduation piece
• Post Graduation-career as concert pianist and
  composer.

2
Dmitri ShostakovichSeptember 25, 1906- August 9,
1975

• Competed in Chopin competition
• Met Bruno Walter
• Concentrated on composition
• Limited performances to his own works
• The Nose
• Called Formalist by the Russian Association of
  Proletarian Musicians or RAPM called
• Formalism any art which used complex techniques
  and forms accessible only to the elite, rather
  than being simplified for the people

3
Dmitri ShostakovichSeptember 25, 1906- August 9,
1975

• 1927- met Ivan Sollertinsky
• Influenced musical tastes
• 1932- open marriage to first wife
• 1930s- worked for theatre company
• Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District
• Early success
• 1936-Series of attacks in Pravda
• Muddle Instead of Music
• No commission no
• Responded with Symphony No. 5

4
Dmitri ShostakovichSeptember 25, 1906- August 9,
1975

• 1936- The Great Terror
• Symphoniespublic
• Chamberprivate (experimental, expressive)
• 1937- Taught at Conservatory, distracting
• 1941-WW2 (St. PetersburgLeningrad)
• Shosty in Leningrad during seige
• Began Symphony. No 7 Leningrad (heroic)
• 1943- Moved to Moscow
• 8th Symphony- Somber and violent (banned)
• 9th Symphony- Neoclassic parody

5
Dmitri ShostakovichSeptember 25, 1906- August 9,
1975

• Second Piano Trio
• Dedicated to Sollertinsky
• Totentanz finale
• 1948- Denounced again
• Privileges taken away
• Most works banned
• Public repentance
• 1960-Joined the Communist Party
• 13th Symphony- Set Jewish poetry
• Late works show preoccupation of death
• Died of lung cancer

6
Sergei ProkofievApril 27, 1891- March 5,1953

• Born in Ukraine
• Intelligent from early age
• 1904- moved to St. Petersburg
• to study
• Studied with Rimsky-Korsakov
• 1910-Father passed, funding ceased
• 1911-contract with publisher, travel to Paris
  (Ballet Russe), London
• 1917 Symphony No. 1 Classical

7
Sergei ProkofievApril 27, 1891- March 5,1953

• 1918-Political unrest led him to USA
• Compared to Rachmaninov, concert career
• 1920- Went to Paris because of finances
• 1935-Returned to Soviet Union
• After the war, accused of formalism
• Works cancelled and health declined, he withdrew
  into himself.
• Died the same day as Stalin