- Shostakovich wrote Symphony No. 10 in e minor in 1953, after the death of Joseph Stalin; however, some musicologists speculate that the composer began the work as early as 1951 but chose to withhold the piece until after Stalin’s demise.1
- As to not ruffle feathers, Shostakovich stated that his intention for his tenth symphony was “to convey human emotions and passions.”2
- Interestingly, many of those close to Shostakovich during the creation of his tenth symphony agree that the piece is a commentary on Stalin and life under his dictatorship.
- *It should be noted that there is no definitive proof of this specific programmatic intent.3
- While the symphony’s direct connection to the death of Stalin cannot be proven, we can still wonder at the piece as the first significant work by Shostakovich, free of a regime notorious for its unjust and authoritarian treatment of the country’s musicians.
- The symphony premiered in December 1953 and was performed by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Yevgeni Mravinsky.
- One interesting feature of the symphony’s third movement:
- The composer inserted his musical signature, “D-S-C-H” (D–S–C–H = D–E♭–C–B), which becomes a motive in the movement. D is for “Dmitri,” and SCH is for the first three letters of “Shostakovich.” The signature motive is robustly repeated in the fourth movement.4
Sources
- James M. Keller, “Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10,” San Francisco Symphony (2017), accessed November 15, 2022, https://www.sfsymphony.org/Data/Event-Data/Program-Notes/S/Shostakovich-Symphony-No-10.
- Laurel Fay and David Fanning, “Shostakovich, Dmitry,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed November 9, 2022, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000052560.
- James M. Keller, “Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10,” San Francisco Symphony.
- Laurel Fay and David Fanning, “Shostakovich, Dmitry,” Grove Music Online.
Cut IDs
45860 46141 11592 14442 20511