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reh. 13 - reh. 14
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Skills & Techniques: Accuracy, Endurance, Loud Playing, Phrasing, Slurring Flexibility
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Horn 1 (F)
Due to restrictions, sheet music for this excerpt is not provided.
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Cincinnati Pops Orchestra (1988)
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Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1994)
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Composer & Composition Information
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
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Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich was born in St.Petersburg in 1906 on 12 September (Old Style) / 25 September (New Style). Exceptionally talented, he entered the Petrograd Conservatory aged 13, studying piano and composition, and graduated in 1925 with his First Symphony op.10. Its triumphant premiere in 1926 was followed by performances in Europe and the USA and, aged 19, Shostakovich was world-famous.
In his youth Shostakovich wrote much for the theatre, producing three ballets and two masterly operas: The Nose op.15 (1928) and Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District op.29 (1932). After fierce and public criticism in 1936, apparently instigated by Stalin himself, he changed direction and his output became predominately for the concert hall. Among a vast mass of orchestral, chamber and vocal music his two cycles of 15 symphonies and 15 string quartets stand supreme. Though still controversial, they are among the most frequently performed works of their century. Of the symphonies the Fifth op.47 (1937), the Eighth op.65 (1943) and the Tenth op.93 (1953) have entered the standard repertoire everywhere. The modernist Fourth op. 43 (1936), long suppressed by the Soviet authorities, is now recognised as a masterpiece, while the Seventh op.60 (1941), written during the Siege of Leningrad, became a symbol of the wartime struggle throughout the Allied world. The text & image are reprinted from Boosey & Hawkes where more information about the composer can be found. |
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Festive Overture, Op. 96
With resilience Shostakovich bounced back into national favor. In 1940 he was awarded the Stalin Prize for his Quintet for Piano and Strings. Once again he found himself among the most highly honored of Soviet composers. His Seventh Symphony reflected the spirit of the Soviet people during the siege of Leningrad, a vibrant testament of the times and a strong weapon in the war effort. He received the Stalin Prize for the second time. His popularity remained undiminished, and for his fiftieth birthday he received the Stalin Prize, now renamed the Lenin Prize, for the third time. In his sixtieth year he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, the first musician ever to be awarded that prize. Shostakovich has been accused of writing for his audience, adopting styles and subject matter currently in favor with governmental authority. Integrity has sometimes been sacrificed for superficial effect. Nonetheless when he draws from his own resources and remains true to himself there is no one better at depicting honest emotion, nobility and grandeur. He also possesses a gift for creatively presenting the Russian experience through music. The Festive Overture, composed in 1954, some say in celebration of the death of Stalin, is a short, very lively work, in which the composer gives free reign to the rhythmic vitality and excitement he does so well.
The text is written by & reprinted from Beryl McHenry (Adrian Symphony Orchestra) where more information about the composition can be found.
The text is written by & reprinted from Beryl McHenry (Adrian Symphony Orchestra) where more information about the composition can be found.
Notable Performances/Recordings:
Boston Symphony Orchestra (2019)
Philharmonia Orchestra (2008)
London Symphony Orchestra (2006)
Boston Symphony Orchestra (2019)
Philharmonia Orchestra (2008)
London Symphony Orchestra (2006)