Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No.8 in C minor, Op. 65 - Allegro non troppo -

Composer: Dmitri Shostakovich Conductor: Mstislav Rostropovich Orchestra/Ensemble: National Symphony, Washington, D. C., London Symphony Orchestra, Academic Symphony Orchestra Of The Moscow State Philharmonic Dmitri Shostakovich wrote in 1956:"I deeply regret that the Eighth Symphony, in which I put so much of my heart and reason, has not been played for long years. I tried to express in this work the experiences the people had gone through, and catch the terrible tragedy of the war. The Eighth Symphony, written in the course of 1943, is an answer to what happened in this difficult time ; this seems to me perfectly justified". Indeed, the premiere on 4th November 1943 in Moscow of the Eighth Symphony conducted by Evgeni Mravinski got a reserved reception due to its tragic tone, insufficiently balanced by a conclusion tinged with unanswered resignation. The Eighth Symphony is considered as one among Shostakovich's highest masterpieces, if not his very summit, and a major work in the 20th century. Dmitri Shostakovich is nowadays considered as the Beethoven of the 20th century, probably because as this famous predecessor he composed heroic works, which embody the aspirations of the people of his time, and a set of quartets in which he freely expressed his inner thoughts and feelings. The opposition between public, official monumental works and intimate ones is typical of the composer, torn between his prominent but imposed political role in the Soviet Union, and its artistic search for independence. This schizophrenic duality is emblematic of the entire works by Shostakovich, and it took Western countries a long time to recognise and understand it, as most people were unaware of the skill an artist had to develop to survive in the hardest times of the Soviet Union. It was not before the release in 1979 of "Testimony, the Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich" by Solomon Volkoff, that Shostakovich's role as true supporter of the Soviet regime was widely reconsidered. Photo:Viktor Bulla's Pioneers in Defense Drill, Leningrad (1937) Links: Dmitri Shostakovich's life and works are well documented on the Internet, but two of them are a good starting point : Dmitri Shostakovich International Association, France DSCH Journal, USA & France - All Rights Reserved -