On this day 1934, the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich premiers his opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District to great success. However 2 years afterwards, he was asked to give a command performance of this piece in front of Stalin at the Bolshoi theatre. Stalin, visibly annoyed at something, left before the 3rd act. Perhaps the central theme of the opera, the justified murder of a tyrant as Shostakovich is said to have called it, struck a raw nerve with Stalin? Either way 2 days after this, an editorial appeared in Pravda, the state organ of the USSR, denouncing Shostakovich for producing Muddle Instead of Music. This was the time of the purges, and such a condemnation had Shostakovich fearing he was next. What followed was a new era in Shostakovich, he had to take extra care to officially please the soviet authorities whilst concealing his true ideas. Politically and musically. It is often said these contradictions influence his the development of his symphonic works. His 5th or his 11th, for example. https://youtube/watch?v=ldRJQfES8hA
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 22:39:18 +0000
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