November 12, 2019

Dmitri Shostakovich

Good morning.

Today we’re listening to Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian composer active in the 20th century. Shostakovich was a piano prodigy and entered conservatory at age 13, at the height of the Russian Civil War. Influenced by Igor Stravinsky and Gustav Mahler, he completed his first symphony at 19 (pictured below). His music weaves many styles together, sometimes sounding as if trying to cram as many impressions of other composers into a single piece as possible. We’re listening to a collection of Shostakovich’s performances of his own music. Our favorites are the Preludes and Piano Concertos (you can skip the Children’s Notebooks).

Shostakovich Plays Shostakovich (340m, 🗣 speech in the Children’s Notebooks) Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Google Play / Tidal

Have a great Tuesday.