- Composed in 1945, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 took audiences by surprise. Following the triumphs of his seventh and eighth symphonies, and given that 1945 coincided with victory over Germany, audiences expected a heroic testament to the times and something that would glorify Stalin… Instead, the composer produced an extremely compact work (the work in its entirety runs less than 30 minutes despite having five movements) written in a style harkening to the classical era.
- Shostakovich said the following about the work: “Musicians will love to play it and critics will delight in blasting it.”
- The work premiered in Leningrad in 1945 with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yevgeny Mravinsky.
- Public reception was mixed. Some appreciated the lighthearted and unexpected delight found in the work, while others denounced the composer’s failure to honor the momentous times in which they were living.
- The Classical nature of Symphony No. 9 can be compared to Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1.
- *NOTE – the last three movements are performed without pause.1 2
Sources
- Howard Posner, “Symphony No. 9,” L. A. Phil, accessed October 21, 2024, https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/4062/symphony-no-9.
- Calvin Dotsey, “Whistling in the Dark: Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9,” Houston Symphony (2018), accessed October 21, 2024, https://houstonsymphony.org/shostakovich-symphony-9/.
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