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Analysis: Shostakovich & 1984—Drawing Comparisons between abstraction and reality [2/3]

The following is a continuation of the tale of Dmitri Shostakovich and its Orwellian nightmare. Click here to read part 1 and 3.


Chapter 2: Freedom is Slavery


Shostakovich’s own artistic innovation is relatively sparse in comparison to some of his fellows; he can produce a great romantic symphony or a delightful, energetic neoclassical prelude. But, nothing especially comes to mind when we are exposed, except for the occasional fabric-ripping percussion of his quartets. This is where Shostakovich is not only bound by the East, but also by the West. After the triumphant “Leningrad” (of which American radio companies fought over the right to premiere, with NBC and Arturo Toscanini winning,) his fame and prominence gradually dwindled, and eventually, his death became just another obituary on the headlines. He was simply not allowed to catch up with the times any longer and, the West simply gradually forgot about his existence.


However, we must not forget that what made Shostakovich so renowned today, as explained in the last chapter, is to be able to work around the rules and still produce highly creative and original work. I will now present some of his extraordinary prowess in all areas of music he contributed to.


I. Quotation


Shostakovich’s work almost exclusively communicated in quotes, and the immaculate motivic webs that he develops are intriguing to listeners and musicologists. He is extremely fond of quoting himself spanning all of his music. Proceeding with the 8th String Quartet we previously discussed, there is a quotation of his 1st symphony, written when he was only 19, in the viola (bottom staff) as follows:



Near the end of the 1st movement is another quote from the 5th symphony. There are many other examples of such artistry occurring in the quartet. (Read a more in-depth analysis here.)


For a reason unknown to us, he was extraordinarily fond of the “March” galop (see 8′33″) in the Overture to William Tell by Gioachino Rossini. He used it extensively in many of his works, seen in his 9th String Quartet in E♭, Symphony No. 15 in A major, Op. 141, and many more. Shostakovich notably also had an obsession with the works and leitmotifs of Wagner, with Tristan und Isolde and leitmotifs from the Ring cycle all appearing throughout the oeuvre. However, in the example of the 15th, the overture march theme is not presented in a joyous, pompous celebration, but instead is modified into a dark, eerie mystique that Shostakovich shapes.


Interestingly, the entirety of the 15th Symphony is saturated with quotations that have been built and corrupted into a terrifying argument. From being the only symphony to open with a solo glockenspiel and a prolonged flute solo on the awkward, bitonal motif ‘E♭ - A♭ - C - B♮ - A’ (S-As-C-H-A, his grandson’s name, in German notation), he immediately conjures an innocent, naïve texture that is soon to be corrupted in aggressive, 12-tone and polyrhythmic sounds in the overture march’s rhythm. In the final movement, everything seemingly already founded has been destroyed, and a dissonant Wagnerian hellscape replaces it with allusions to; the Symphonic Dances of Rachmaninoff, Mahlerian destruction, his own 7th ‘invasion’ theme, and a complete breaking down of the famous ‘longing’ leitmotif from Tristan und Isolde from brooding sentimentality to a Dorian mode cavatina, almost autobiographical in nature. (More on this later.)


Above: Symphony No. 15 in A major, Op. 141 I. Allegretto

Middle: Symphony No. 15 in A major, Op. 141 IV. Adagio #113

Below: Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, Prelude to Act I

"I don't myself quite know why the quotations are there, but I could not, could not, not include them"
— Dmitri Shostakovich, to Isaac Glikman

Most famously, his ‘musical signature’ was the aforementioned DSCH motif. This is by no means new: 150 years prior, Mozar strutted around with 'DSCH' in the adagio to his String Quartet No. 19, "Dissonance". However, Shostakovich is very much associated with it now, as examples of him using it would be countless. Some of the most famous uses include:


  • The 10th Symphony, a despairing, growling unison tutti that is shatteringly real;

  • The 1st Violin Concerto in A minor, incorporated in a forceful demonic dance and even being intertwined with 'Fate' from Beethoven's 5th;

  • The 6th String Quartet in G major, at the end of each movement, jarring and foreshadowing doom at places;

  • The aforementioned 8th String Quartet, used in every movement;


This is even used in the English composer Benjamin Britten’s cantata Rejoice in the Lamb, written in 1943 in the heat of the war as if Britten’s quotation meant: “I support you and your music, even if it feels like the world has forgotten about you.” Shostakovich eventually dedicated Britten his 14th Symphony, a jarring display of intricate polyphony & 12-tone harmony, premiered in Aldeburgh, and the two had a strong relationship until the respective ends of their careers.


Dmitri Shostakovich (left) and Benjamin Britten (right)

These musical allusions all over his works jeeringly point at his own artistic utopia.


II. Classical forms


Shostakovich adored the works of the Baroque and Classical composers, and many of his works, especially chamber, have a Viennese grace associated with them. Take the lovely first movement of String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 67: it is intensely Haydnesque, with a boom-chuck-chuck-chuck even forming the homophonic accompaniment of the former, but watch how Shostakovich adds several extensions and notes outside the scale in this eerily calm, lilting, and pastoral section:


Above: String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73 I. Allegretto

As we have seen time and time again, Haydn paved the way for many of Shostakovich's middle period works. However, he also composed 20th-century counterpoint very much in the manner of Bach. Just like the great master (see the Well-Tempered Clavier), he wrote a set of 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87, often overlooked (as it was written during the Zhdanov decree) but full of delightful modern uses of contrapuntal ingenuity.



The two pairs I would like to highlight are the 2nd in A minor and the 7th in A major. Clearly a pastiche of the famous Bach C major prelude, BWV 846, the A minor prelude’s single-line toccata inverts the triad, makes it much more fluid, and faster. As with all of his works, he adds wonderful ambiguous harmonies inside. The three-voice fugue has wonderful contrapuntal interplay, staccato, and fiery dissonances and modulations, demonstrating Shostakovich’s sound understanding of the piano; for he is an accomplished concert pianist as well.




Above: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 Prelude & Fugue in A minor

The A major pair is easily the best of the 24, with its innovative design throughout. The prelude takes inspiration from the Book I D minor, BWV 851, but much slower, and much of the accompaniment is a pedal point, playing host to the sempre legato harp-like cascades on the right hand. Again, we see a transformation of this idyllic tonal prelude, with an emphasis on the second scale degree and the cascades wandering off to distant keys, eventually ending up in A♭ and having to make a jaw-dropping modulation back to A, eventually dissolving into nothingness.


Above: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 Prelude & Fugue in A major

In short, instead of a diatonic fugal subject that might be more commonplace, Shostakovich only uses notes from the A major triad, as in A, C♯, E in as many permutations and combinations as possible. The main subject is an arpeggio of the basic triad that spans a twelfth, whereas the countersubject is a suspension/loose inverted canon of the same triad. The result is that, whereas the vertical harmony would be too awkward and have quite a few parallels and dissonances, Shostakovich’s stays in the key throughout with no accidentals outside the key, creating completely novel emotional tensions in the absence of classical dissonance. Modulating is now surprisingly easy and close strettos (such as bb. 62-99) are now highly resonant. A result of the arpeggiation and stretto of subject, countersubject and dominant pedal, the rhythm is quite ambiguous and dynamic, a product of 20th-century polyrhythmic innovation, although Bach the master would’ve certainly experimented with this at some point.



(In the final stretto above, observe the seamless transition (b. 66) from A to C, back to A, with continuously engaged dominant pedal E and no vertical dissonances. Figured bass by the editor.)


Shostakovich never ventured far beyond tonality and diatonicism, unlike his German counterpart Hindemith, who suffered similar artistic suppression under the Nazis, and his other contemporaries Bartók and Stravinsky, who both explored modality and atonality and some point in their careers. This is in part to the USSR’s socialist realism, as Stalin never wanted his citizens to be exposed to art that can challenge the state’s monopoly. However, this did not stop Shostakovich from breaching the boundaries of conservative music; all of his oeuvres, especially in later periods, incorporates certain aspects of 12-tone harmony and eccentric modal shifts. Shostakovich is firmly not influenced by traditional critics; he develops his classicism in wild, grotesque directions.


III. Grotesque and Cultural Ideas


Many first impressions of Shostakovich include brashness, harshness, and difficulty to appreciate. I do not deny these appropriations as this is the aesthetic that he goes for in many of his mature pieces. However, it is important to realise that he incorporates many other national styles and independent styles out there.


Starting with jazz: In the early days, the USSR was very much accepting of Shostakovich wanting to use jazz ideas. Just look at his 1st Symphony; the opening theme has a vaudeville and ‘20s Hollywood flavour to it, what he was exposed to at the Petrograd Conservatory. His numerous film tracks all point to American idioms, such as what was being produced by Korngold at the time. And we cannot forget his Jazz Suites and Suite for Variety Orchestra, with that famous glitzy, classy waltz that we all know and love.


He also used Jewish (Klezmer) ideas to a great extent; the danse macabre 2nd movement of the 8th String Quartet (from Chapter 1) was actually quoted from a previous composition, the wartime piece Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67, that used the Jewish melody in the tempestuous finale. This piece was dedicated to Ivan Sollertinsky, a Jewish polymath and Shostakovich’s close friend, who had died recently at age 41. The war background of this piece paints a clear picture: he wanted to honour his late friend while making a salvo for the Jewish people and against anti-Semitism in the increasingly vilifying propaganda. He would come back to this in his 13th Symphony, 5 settings each of a Yevgeny Yevtushenko poem. The title is named after the Babi Yar massacres, a horrific display of Nazi Holocaust hatred. Shostakovich is not only writing with supreme choral skill, but he is also writing with urgency, a deep passion & unrelenting disgust of anti-Semitism.


"No monument stands over Babi Yar. A steep cliff only, like the rudest headstone. I am afraid."
"I see myself an ancient Israelite. I wander o’er the roads of ancient Egypt. And here, upon the cross, I perish, tortured. And even now, I bear the marks of nails."
Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Babi Yar
Set by Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 13 in B♭ minor "Babi Yar"

There is still no monument over Babi Yar.

The Klezmer modes and jazz/blues idioms serve to construct melody, but Shostakovich's most outstanding feat is his integration of musical texture. There is a great variety of this available; from the static ambiguity of the A major prelude and fugue, the lush Mahlerian orchestration of his 4th symphony, the martial determination of his 7th and 11th symphonies, and the maniacal percussion of the 2nd piano trio and the 9th string quartet. He made the effect of many sound effects such as sul ponticello, col legno, and slapping (Bartók pizzicati) on strings. In the 14th symphony, he divided the violins in 10 to create a "monstrous swarm of bees", with each violinist having their own score. His percussion choices are also unique: he often included a piano part in his symphonies, not as a soloist but playing the tutti staccato. The famous "invasion" ostinato and "1905 Bloody Sunday" march are all based around the snare drum, with instruments in ghostly-high registers chanting the same repressive slogans.


Above: Symphony No. 7 in C major "Leningrad", Op. 60 I. Allegretto #19 bb. 149-50

Shostakovich was not just enslaved by Stalin's politburo, but also by the West, and by the shackles of history. But, creativity spawns out of the strictest law, innovation through tried-and-tested formulae, and freedom through a career breaking free of the giant footsteps of the Titans. As you would know through 15 minutes of your toiling, art is paradoxical at its very nature; how can we judge something ingenious, aesthetically, when its predecessors are not comparable with it? Why can critics never escape the quandary that is bias? And, can an artist's vie idéale ever rise above the ashes of history and failure?


(to be continued…)



Recordings:

For further reading/listening:

Incipits all of Shostakovich unless otherwise specified. Reduction by the author/editor. Quartet extracts and preludes & fugues from Boosey & Hawkes, with modification by the author.

Translation of Babi Yar by Benjamin Okopnik

Shostakovich & Britten, first quote from Symphony Guide.

Cover image from Encyclopædia Britannica

All other images in public domain–no attribution is required.

Some analysis in this article is from the writer's personal opinion. Please feel free to interpret Dmitri Shostakovich's work and George Orwell's 1984 in a way you deem correct. Feel free to contact the author in the comments section and/or forum. If you believe there is any mistake, reach out to us and we'll fix it as soon as possible.

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