15th Symphony (Shostakovich)

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The 15th Symphony in A major (op. 141) is Dmitri Shostakovich's last symphony and was written in 1971 in Repino . The work was premiered on January 8, 1972 under the direction of his son Maxim Shostakovich . This symphony is often seen as the quintessence of his life, but it does not want to represent an end point. The opening motif of the first sentence (es-as-cha) is an encryption of the Russian first name "Sascha".

construction

The symphony has the following movements:

  1. Allegretto
  2. Adagio - Largo ( attacca )
  3. Allegretto
  4. Adagio - Allegretto

The main key of the first movement is A minor, the second F minor and the third G minor. The last movement turns from A minor to A major.

music

While Shostakovich usually asked for a choir or soloist for his last symphonies, this includes a pure orchestra. What is also noticeable about this symphony is the frequency of quotations; motifs from Giacchino Rossini's Guillaume Tell and Richard Wagner's operas appear, as well as themes from his own earlier works. Overall, Shostakovich designed the symphonic events with both cheerful and sad moments.

The first sentence quotes a loose passage from Rossini's work. In the second movement, the brass section is reminiscent of a funeral march. The fourth movement is primarily characterized by polyrhythmic elements and percussive instrumentation, and uses the motif of the death announcement from Die Walküre as well as quotes from Tristan and Isolde .

literature

  • Shostakovich, Dmitri and Glikman, Isaak (2001). Story of a Friendship: The Letters of Dmitry Shostakovich to Isaak Glikman. Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 0-8014-3979-5 .
  • Harenberg, cultural guide concert . Meyers Lexikonverlag, Mannheim 2006, ISBN 978-3-411-76161-6 .