Photos of Shostakovich. About the work of Dmitry Shostakovich. Creative activity of composer Dmitry Shostakovich

Dmitry Shostakovich. 1906 - 1975

Music
D.D.Sh.

Something miraculous burns in her,
And before our eyes its edges are cut.
She alone speaks to me,
When others are afraid to approach.
When last friend looked away
She was with me in my grave
And she sang like the first thunderstorm,
It’s as if all the flowers started talking.
Anna Akhmatova. 1957-1958

Shostakovich was born and lived in difficult and controversial times. He did not always adhere to the party’s policies; he sometimes conflicted with the authorities, sometimes receiving their approval.
Shostakovich is a unique phenomenon in world history musical culture. His work, like no other artist, reflected our complex, cruel era, contradictions and tragic fate humanity, the shocks that befell his contemporaries were embodied. All the troubles, all the suffering of our country in the twentieth century. he passed it through his heart and expressed it in his works.

Memorial plaque on house 2 on Podolskaya Street, where he was born Dmitry Shostakovich

Portrait of Mitya Shostakovich works by Boris Kustodiev, 1919

Dmitry Shostakovich was born in 1906, “at the end” of the Russian Empire, in St. Petersburg, when Russian empire lived out her life last days. By the end of the First World War and subsequent revolution, the past had been decisively erased as the country embraced a radical new socialist ideology. Unlike Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Rachmaninov, Dmitri Shostakovich did not leave his homeland to live abroad.

Sofya Vasilievna Shostakovich, composer's mother

Dmitry Boleslavovich Shostakovich, father of the composer

He was the second of three children: his older sister Maria became a pianist, and his younger sister Zoya became a veterinarian. Shostakovich studied at a private school, and then in 1916 - 1818, during the revolution and formation Soviet Union, studied at the school of I. A. Glyasser.

Time for a change

The building of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where thirteen-year-old Shostakovich entered in 1919

Class of M. O. Steinberg at the Petrograd Conservatory. Dmitry Shostakovich stands on the far left

Later, the future composer entered the Petrograd Conservatory. Like many other families, he and his loved ones found themselves in a difficult situation - constant starvation weakened the body and, in 1923, Shostakovich urgently went to a sanatorium in the Crimea for health reasons. In 1925 he graduated from the conservatory. Thesis work young musician was the First Symphony, which immediately brought the 19-year-old boy wide fame at home and in the West.

First edition of the First Symphony. 1927

In 1927, he met Nina Varzar, a student studying physics, whom he later married. That same year he became one of eight finalists at International competition them. Chopin in Warsaw, and the winner was his friend Lev Oborin.

Dmitri Shostakovich performs First piano concert . Conductor A. Orlov

The world is at war. 1936

Life was difficult, and in order to continue to support his family and his widowed mother, Shostakovich composed music for films, ballets and theater. When Stalin came to power, the situation became more complicated.

Still from the movie "The Return of Maxim". Directors G. Kozintsev, L. Trauberg, composer D. Shostakovich

Shostakovich's career experienced rapid ups and downs several times, but the turning point in his fate came in 1936, when Stalin attended his opera Lady Macbeth Mtsensk district"based on the story by N. S. Leskov and was shocked by its sharp satire and innovative music. The official reaction followed immediately. The government newspaper Pravda, in an article entitled “Confusion Instead of Music,” subjected the opera to real destruction, and Shostakovich was recognized as an enemy of the people. The opera was immediately removed from the repertoire in Leningrad and Moscow. Shostakovich was forced to cancel the premiere of his recently completed Symphony No. 4, fearing that it might cause even more trouble, and began work on new symphony. In those terrible years There was a period when the composer lived for many months, expecting arrest at any moment. He went to bed dressed and had a small suitcase ready.

The main representatives of “formalism” in Soviet music are S. Prokofiev, D. Shostakovich, A. Khachaturian. Photo from the late 1940s.

At the same time, his relatives were arrested. His marriage was also in jeopardy due to an affair. But with the birth of their daughter Galina in 1936, the situation improved.
Pursued by the press, he wrote his Symphony No. 5, which, fortunately, went through with great success. She was the first climax symphonic creativity composer, its premiere in 1937 was conducted by the young Evgeniy Mravinsky.

1941

Dmitry Shostakovich during a class on extinguishing aerial bombs. Leningrad, July 1941

And then came the terrible year 1941. Since the beginning of the war, the composer began work on the Seventh Symphony. A symphony dedicated to the feat hometown, the composer ended up in Kuibyshev, where he was evacuated with his family. The composer finished the symphony, but it could not be heard besieged Leningrad. An orchestra of no less than a hundred people was needed; time and effort were needed to learn the piece. There was no orchestra, no strength, no time free from bombing and shelling. Therefore, the “Leningrad” Symphony was first performed in Kuibyshev in March 1942. After some time, one of the best conductors in the world, Arturo Toscanini, introduced the public to this creation in the USA. The score was flown to New York by military aircraft.
And the Leningraders, surrounded by the blockade, gathered strength. There were few musicians in the city who did not have time to evacuate. But there weren't enough of them. Then the army and navy were sent to the city the best musicians. So in besieged Leningrad a large Symphony Orchestra. Bombs exploded, houses collapsed and burned, people could barely move from hunger. And the orchestra was practicing Shostakovich's symphony. It was performed in Leningrad in August 1942.

L. A. Rusov. Leningrad Symphony. Conducted by E. A. Mravinsky. 1980. Oil on canvas. Private collection, Russia

One of the foreign newspapers wrote: “A country whose artists in these harsh days create works of immortal beauty and high spirit is invincible!”
In 1943, the composer moved to Moscow. Before the end of the war, he wrote the Eighth Symphony, dedicated to the wonderful conductor, the first performer of all his symphonies starting with the Fifth, E. Mravinsky. From that time on, D. Shostakovich's life was connected with the capital. He is engaged in creativity, pedagogy, and writes music for films.

Still from the movie "Young guard". Director S. Gerasimov, composer D. Shostakovich

Post-war years

In 1948, Shostakovich again had trouble with the authorities; he was declared a formalist. A year later, he was fired from the conservatory, and his compositions were banned from performance. The composer continued to work in the theater and film industry (between 1928 and 1970 he wrote music for almost 40 films).
Stalin's death in 1953 brought some relief. He felt relative freedom. This allowed him to expand and enrich his style and create works of even greater skill and range, which often reflected the violence, horror and bitterness of the times the composer lived through.
Shostakovich visited Great Britain and America and created several more grandiose works.
60s pass under the sign of increasingly deteriorating health. The composer suffers two heart attacks, central disease begins nervous system. Increasingly, people have to spend long periods in hospital. But Shostakovich tries to lead an active lifestyle and compose, although he is getting worse every month.

The last photograph of Dmitry Shostakovich, May 1975

Death overtook the composer on August 9, 1975. But even after death, the all-powerful authorities did not leave him alone. Despite the composer's desire to be buried in his homeland, in Leningrad, he was buried at the prestigious Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.

Shostakovich's tombstone at Novodevichy Cemetery with the image of a music monogram

The funeral was postponed to August 14 because foreign delegations did not have time to arrive. Shostakovich was an “official” composer, and he was buried officially with loud speeches from representatives of the party and government who had criticized him for so many years.
After his death, he was officially declared a loyal member of the Communist Party.

Composer's awards and honors:

People's Artist of the USSR (1954)
Laureate State Prize (1941, 1942, 1946, 1950, 1952, 1968, 1974)
Laureate International Prize Mira (1954)
Lenin Prize laureate (1958)
Hero Socialist Labor (1966)

Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich born September 25 (September 12, old style) 1906 in St. Petersburg. Father - Dmitry Boleslavovich Shostakovich (1875-1922) - worked in the Chamber of Weights and Measures. Mother - Sofya Vasilievna (Kokoulina, 1878-1955) - graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory and with early childhood instilled a love of music in her son.
Dmitry’s mother gave Dmitry his first music lessons, and already in 1915 his serious music training from the beginning at the Maria Shidlovskaya Commercial Gymnasium and from 1916 at the private school of I.A. Glasser. His first attempts at composing music date back to this time. In 1919 he entered the Petrograd Conservatory. After his father's death in 1922, Dmitry has to look for work. He works part-time as a pianist in a cinema and continues his studies. During this period, he received great help from the director of the conservatory, A.K. Glazunov. In 1923 he graduated from the conservatory in piano, and in 1925 in composition, but continued his postgraduate studies, combining them with teaching. The diploma work was the First Symphony, which brings Shostakovich world fame. The first performance of the symphony abroad took place in 1927 in Germany. In the same year, he received a certificate of honor at the International Chopin Pianist Competition.
In 1936, Stalin attended the opera “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk”, after which it was published in the newspaper “Pravda” critical article"Confusion instead of music." A number of the composer’s works are subject to a ban, which will only be lifted in the sixties. This pushes Shostakovich to abandon the opera genre. Stalin commented on the release of the composer’s Fifth Symphony in 1937 with the words: “A businesslike creative response Soviet artist to fair criticism." Since 1939, Shostakovich has been a professor at the Leningrad Conservatory. The war finds Dmitry Dmitrievich in Leningrad, where he begins to write the Seventh (“Leningrad”) Symphony. The first performance took place in Kuibyshev in 1942, and in August of the same year in Leningrad. For this symphony Shostakovich receives Stalin Prize. Since 1943 he has been teaching in Moscow.
In 1948, a Politburo resolution was issued, in which prominent Soviet composers were sharply criticized: Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Khachaturian and others. And as a consequence, accusations of professional incompetence and deprivation of the title of professor at the Leningrad and Moscow Conservatories. During this period, Shostakovich “wrote on the table” musical piece“Anti-formalist paradise”, in which Stalin and Zhdanov and the Politburo resolution are ridiculed. The play was first performed only in 1989 in Washington. Nevertheless, Shostakovich demonstrates submission to authority and thereby avoids more serious consequences. Writes music for the film “Young Guard”. And already in 1949 he was even released to the USA as part of a delegation in defense of peace, and in 1950 he received the Stalin Prize for the cantata “Song of the Forests”. But he returned to teaching only in 1961, studying with several graduate students at the Leningrad Conservatory.
Shostakovich was married three times. He lived with his first wife Nina Vasilievna (Varzar, 1909-1954) until her death in 1954. They had two children Maxim and Galina. The second marriage with Margarita Kainova quickly broke up. Dmitry Dmitriev lived with his third wife Irina Antonovna (Suspinskaya, born in 1934) until his death. He had children only from his first marriage.
In many European academies and in the USA, Shostakovich was an honorary member (Royal Academy of Music of Great Britain, French Academy fine arts, US National Academy and others).
In the last years of his life, Shostakovich battled lung cancer. Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich died on August 9, 1975 in Moscow. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich was born in St. Petersburg on September 25, 1906 into a family that revered and loved music very much. His father was a chemical engineer, and his mother was a gifted pianist who became her son's first teacher, teaching him to play the piano.

Mitya began composing music at the age of 9. In 1916 he was sent to music school, where the boy studied until 1918.

At the age of 13, Shostakovich, having received official approval from the director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory A.K. Glazunov, was accepted into the first year. His teachers were L.V. Nikolaev (piano), N.A. Sokolova (harmony), M.O. Steinberg (composition).

During his hungry student days, Shostakovich worked as a pianist during the screening of “silent” films.

In 1923 Dmitry graduated from the conservatory as a pianist, and in 1925 as a composer.

At first, his creative activity was very successful. The first symphony was a great success not only in Russia, but also abroad. Soviet criticism and the love of the audience noted Shostakovich's works in the operatic genre (the opera "The Nose"), as well as works written for the drama theater.

However, after the devastating articles “Confusion Instead of Music” and “Ballet Falsehood,” directed against the composer’s work, appeared on the pages of the Pravda newspaper in 1936, almost all of his works were removed from the repertoire. Writings of the 1920s (with the exception of Symphony No. 1 and some miniatures) were not performed in the USSR until the middle

1960s, and the opera “The Nose” was resumed only in 1974.

Fortunately, not without the participation of authoritative Soviet cultural figures (in particular, A.M. Gorky), Shostakovich was not repressed and was able to continue his work. Since 1937 he has been teaching composition at Leningradskaya, in 1943–1948. - at the Moscow Conservatory. Among his students: R. S. Bunin, J. Gadzhiev, G. G. Galynin, O. A. Evlakhov, K. Karaev, Yu. A. Levitin, G. V. Sviridov, B. I. Tishchenko, G. I. Ustvolskaya and others.

During the Great Patriotic War, D. Shostakovich created the legendary “Seventh” (Leningrad) Symphony, which thundered throughout the world.

But soon fate, represented by the authorities, again turned away from Shostakovich. In February

In 1948, the Decree of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks was published on the opera by V.I. Muradeli’s “Great Friendship”, in which the music of major Soviet composers including Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Khachaturian was declared “formalistic” and “alien” to the Soviet people" Only the Thirteenth Symphony and music for the film The Young Guard, created in the same year, returned Shostakovich’s favor from above.

In 1954, the composer was awarded the title people's artist USSR, in 1965 he was awarded the academic degree of Doctor of Art History, and in 1966 Shostakovich was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

Musical heritage:

Operas: "Nose"(based on N.V. Gogol, libretto by E.I. Zamyatin, G.I. Ionin, A.G. Preis and the author, 1928), "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" (« Katerina Izmailova», By

Ballets:« Golden age"(1930), "Bolt"(1931), "Bright Stream"(1935); musical comedy "Moscow, Cheryomushki"(libretto by V.Z. Mass and M.A. Chervinsky, 1958)

Works for soloists, choir and orchestra: oratorio "Song of the Forests"(words by E. Ya. Dolmatovsky, 1949), cantata “The sun is shining over our Motherland”(words by Dolmatovsky, 1952)

Poems : "Poem about the Motherland"(1947), "Execution of Stepan Razin"(words by E. A. Yevtushenko, 1964)

Works for orchestra:15 symphonies(No. 1, F-moll op. 10, 1925; No. 2 - October, with a final chorus to the words of A. I. Bezymensky, H-dur op. 14, 1927; No. 3, Pervomaiskaya, for orchestra and choir, lyrics by S. I. Kirsanov, Es-dur op. 20, 1929; No. 4, c-moll op. 43, 1936; No. 5, d-moll op. 47, 1937; No. 6, h-moll op. 54, 1939; No. 7, C-dur op. 60, 1941, dedicated to the city of Leningrad; No. 8, c-moll op. 65, 1943, dedicated to E.A. Mravinsky; No. 9, Es-dur op. 70, 1945; No. 10, e-moll op. 93, 1953; No. 11, 1905, g-moll op. 103, 1957; No. 12 -1917, dedicated to the memory of V. I. Lenin, d-moll op. 112, 1961; No. 13, b-moll op. 113, words by E. A. Evtushenko, 1962; No. 14, op. 135, words by F. García Lorca, G. Apollinaire, W. K. Küchelbecker and R. M. Rilke, 1969, dedicated to B. Britten; No. 15, op. 141, 1971), symphonic poem“October” (op. 131, 1967), a mournful and triumphal prelude to the memory of heroes Battle of Stalingrad(op. 130, 1967)

Works for voice and orchestra:2 fables by Krylov(op. 4, 1922), 6 romances based on words by Japanese poets(op. 21, 1928-1932, dedicated to N.V. Varzar), 8 English and American folk songs based on texts by R. Burns and others, translated by S. Ya. Marshak(no op., 1944)

Works for voice, violin, cello and piano:7 romances to words by A. A. Blok(Op. 127, 1967); vocal cycle From Jewish folk poetry for soprano, contralto and tenor with piano(op. 79, 1948); for voice and piano - 4 romances to words by A. S. Pushkin(op. 46, 1936), 6 romances to words by W. Raleigh, R. Burns and W. Shakespeare(op. 62, 1942; version with chamber orchestra), 2 songs to the words of M. A. Svetlov(op. 72, 1945), 2 romances to the words of M. Yu. Lermontov(op. 84, 1950), 4 songs to the words of E. A. Dolmatovsky(op. 86, 1951), 4 monologues based on words by A. S. Pushkin(op. 91, 1952), Spanish songs(op. 100, 1956), 5 satires on the words of S. Cherny(op. 106, 1960), 6 poems by M. I. Tsvetaeva(op. 143, 1973; version with chamber orchestra), 4 poems by Captain Lebyadkin(words by F. M. Dostoevsky, op. 146, 1975)

music for drama theater performances:"Bug" V. Mayakovsky (1929), "Virgin Land" Gorbenko and Lvova (1930), "Rule, Britannia!" Piotrovsky (1931), "King Lear" W. Shakespeare (1941)

Music for films:"New Babylon"(1929), "One"(1931), "Golden Mountains"(1931), "Girlfriends"(1936), trilogy - “The Youth of Maxim”(1935), "The Return of Maxim"(1937), "Vyborg side"(1939), "Man with a Gun"(1938), "Simple people"(1945), "Pirogov"(1947), "Young guard"(1948), "Michurin"(1949), "Meeting on the Elbe"(1949), "Gadfly"(1955), "First Echelon"(1956), "Hamlet"(1964), "King Lear"(1971), etc.

The message about Dmitry Shostakovich will briefly tell you about the biography and work of the great Russian Soviet composer, pianist and teacher.

Dmitry Shostakovich short biography

Dmitry Shostakovich was born on September 25, 1906 in St. Petersburg in musical family. Often in the evenings, concerts were held in their house, which played a role in the development and formation of Shostakovich as a real musician and personality. He wrote his first work, a piano piece, at the age of 9. At the age of 13 he entered the Petrograd Conservatory to study piano and composition. After 2 years, wanting to improve the financial situation of the family, he begins to work as a musical illustrator. The young man improvised beautifully, composing musical pictures on the go. At the age of 18, Dmitry composed his first symphony, which in 1926 was performed at the Leningrad big stage. A few years later it sounded in the halls of Germany and America. This is how success came to Shostakovich.

After graduating from the conservatory, he could not decide who he wanted to be - a performer or an author. At one time I tried to combine it, but until the 30s of the 20th century I performed solo. Shostakovich performed Liszt, Bach, Chopin, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky. In 1927 in Warsaw at the International Competition named after. Chopin awarded him an honorary diploma.

After some time, he abandoned the fame of a pianist and began to search for his own style through many experiments. Dmitry Shostakovich tried himself in songs, opera, music for theater and cinema, ballets and piano pieces, as well as symphonies.

In 1937, he began teaching a composition class at the Leningrad Conservatory. After 2 years, Shostakovich became a professor. During the Great Patriotic War the composer remained in besieged Leningrad and worked on his 7th symphony. It was performed on March 29, 1942 in the House of Unions in the Hall of Columns. He was awarded the Stalin Prize for the symphony.

The composer moved to Moscow in 1943 and taught at the Moscow Conservatory until 1948. Relationship with Soviet power Shostakovich had difficult times. He was either censored or rewarded with favor. As a result, he developed signs of constant uncertainty and bullying. In 1957, Shostakovich was taken to the post of secretary of the Union of Composers of the USSR and the Union of Composers of the RSFSR.

• Composer Shostakovich's hobby is football. He was not only fond of this sport, but also graduated from the school of football referees.
• Every time he was about to get married, his mother intervened. She did not allow Dmitry to tie the knot with Tanya Glivenko, the daughter of a famous linguist. She also didn’t like her son’s second choice, Nina Vazar. But, a few years later, Nina and Shostakovich finally got married. The marriage produced 2 children, son Maxim and daughter Galina.
• He was a card gambler. In his youth, the composer won a large sum of money, with which Dmitry bought himself a cooperative apartment.
• The great pianist was sick a lot. But doctors were unable to give him an accurate diagnosis. Only years later, Dmitry was diagnosed with a tumor, which was already too late to treat.
• He co-authored the anthem of the Soviet Union. It is interesting that the composer did not like the political system of the Soviet Union and when he received a party card, he cried.

Shostakovich Interesting Facts from life you can add through the comment form.

D.D. Shostakovich was born in St. Petersburg. This event in the family of Dmitry Boleslavovich Shostakovich and Sofia Vasilievna Shostakovich occurred on September 25, 1906. The family was very musical. The future composer’s mother was a talented pianist and gave piano lessons to beginners. Despite his serious profession as an engineer, Dmitry’s father simply adored music and sang a little himself.

Home concerts were often held in the house in the evenings. This played a huge role in the formation and development of Shostakovich as a person and a real musician. He presented his debut work, a piano piece, at the age of nine. By the age of eleven he already had several of them. And at the age of thirteen he entered the Petrograd Conservatory to study composition and piano.

Youth

Young Dmitry devoted all his time and energy to music studies. They spoke of him as an exceptional talent. He didn’t just compose music, but made listeners immerse themselves in it, experience its sounds. He was especially admired by the director of the conservatory, A.K. Glazunov, who subsequently, after sudden death father obtained a personal scholarship for Shostakovich.

However, the family's financial situation left much to be desired. And the fifteen-year-old composer began working as a musical illustrator. The main thing in this amazing profession was improvisation. And he improvised beautifully, composing real musical pictures on the go. From 1922 to 1925, he changed three cinemas, and this invaluable experience remained with him forever.

Creation

For children, the first acquaintance with the musical heritage and short biography of Dmitry Shostakovich occurs at school. They know from music lessons that a symphony is one of the most complex genres of instrumental music.

Dmitri Shostakovich composed his first symphony at the age of 18, and in 1926 it was performed on the big stage in Leningrad. And a few years later it was performed in concert halls America and Germany. It was an incredible success.

However, after the conservatory, Shostakovich was still faced with the question of his future fate. He couldn't decide future profession: author or performer. For some time he tried to combine one with the other. Until the 1930s he performed solo. His repertoire often included Bach, Liszt, Chopin, Prokofiev, and Tchaikovsky. And in 1927 he received an honorary diploma at the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw.

But over the years, despite the growing fame of a talented pianist, Shostakovich abandoned this type of activity. He rightly believed that she was a real obstacle to the composition. In the early 30s, he was looking for his own unique style and experimented a lot. He tried his hand at everything: opera (“The Nose”), songs (“Song of the Counter”), music for cinema and theater, piano pieces, ballets (“Bolt”), symphonies (“Pervomayskaya”).

Other biography options

• Every time Dmitry Shostakovich was going to get married, his mother certainly intervened. So, she did not allow him to connect his life with Tanya Glivenko, the daughter of a famous linguist. She also didn’t like the composer’s second choice, Nina Vazar. Because of her influence and his doubts, he did not appear on own wedding. But, fortunately, after a couple of years they reconciled and went to the registry office again. This marriage produced a daughter, Galya, and a son, Maxim.
• Dmitry Shostakovich was a gambling card player. He himself said that once in his youth he won a large sum money, with which he later purchased a cooperative apartment.
• Before death great composer been sick for many years. Doctors could not make an accurate diagnosis. Later it turned out that it was a tumor. But it was too late to treat. Dmitri Shostakovich died on August 9, 1975.