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Shostakovich's Attempt to Convey Stalin's Oppression

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Shostakovich's Attempt to Convey Stalin's Oppression Communication Through Music: Shostakovich’s Attempt to Convey Stalin’s Oppression Jayaditya Kothari and Tariq Shahid Junior Division Group Website Word Count: 1200 Words Media Time: 3 Minutes and 0 Seconds Process Paper: 496 Words URL: https://site.nhd.org/61020385/home ​ Annotated Bibliography Primary Sources A billboard advertises the Leningrad premiere of Shostakovich's Seventh in August 1942. Aug. 1942. Wall Street Journal, 17 May 2019, A billboard advertises the Leningrad premiere ​ ​ of Shostakovich's Seventh in August 1942. Accessed 26 Feb. 2021. This source is an image that shows a billboard advertising Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony. It is used in the website to show the effectiveness of Shostakovich’s music in inspiring the masses. Abramson, Max. The first five Marshals in 1935, only two survived the Purge (Wiki). Armstrong ​ History Journal, ​ armstronghistoryjournal.wordpress.com/2018/11/23/creating-killers-stalins-great-purge-a nd-the-red-armys-fate-in-the-great-patriotic-war/. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. This source is an image that shows the first five marshals of the Soviet Union. The researchers put this on their website to show that only two of them survived the great purge. This shows how widespread and cruel this process was. Anti-Soviet Rayok. Composed by Dmitri Shostakovich. YouTube, Google, ​ ​ ​ youtu.be/RrKUj4d5O9I. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. This is a recording of a private piece that Shostakovich composed. It illustrates Shostakovich’s hate for Stalin as it shows three pompous people saying very stupid things and acting like they are smart. Arts, Granger. Dimitri Shostakovich. FineArtAmerica, ​ ​ ​ ​ fineartamerica.com/featured/dimitri-shostakovich-granger.html. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. This is a painting of Shostakovich composing a piece after his denouncement. It enriches the website due to the facial expression captured by the artist that shows Shostakovich’s distaste at being denounced. "ATTACKS ON INTELLIGENTSIA: CENSORSHIP." Library of Congress, 31 Aug. 2016, ​ ​ www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/attc.html. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. This source explains the use of censorship in the USSR. This source was used because the main part of their project is about the censorship of music and literature. Auerbach, Eric. Shostakovich. 1972. NPR, 2006, ​ ​ ​ ​ www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6129917. Accessed 26 Feb. 2021. This source is an image of Shostakovich when he was very old. It is used in the website to show what Shostakovich was like in his later years. Bernstein, Leonard. "Leonard Bernstein Discusses Shostakovich's 9th Symphony." YouTube, ​ ​ Google, 19 May 2014, youtu.be/FVfz5YymsXI. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. Interview. This interview with Bernstein gives the historians an inside perspective at a 3rd party interpretation of the 9th Symphony. Bernstein talks about how Shostakovich differed from the norm greatly and this excerpt was added as a quote on the website. Conquest, Robert. The Great Terror. 1968. ​ ​ This book is about the great purge and all the officers that died during this time. It also mentions the fear many political figures felt when they gained popularity. Corbis. Shostakovich Composing. BBC, ​ ​ www.bbc.com/culture/article/20150807-shostakovich-the-composer-who-was-almost-pur ged. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. This website is used for an image of Shostakovich fervently composing. It represents how fidgety and overzealous Shostakovich was at all times. Dmitri Shostakovich and Leonard Bernstein in Moscow. Brandeis University, 1959, ​ ​ ​ blogs.brandeis.edu/musicalmusings/2018/10/18/bernstein-conducts-shostakovichs-symph ony-no-5/. Accessed 26 Feb. 2021. This is an image of Leonard Bernstein conducting Shostakovich’s fifth symphony. It is used in the website to also show the effects of Shostakovich’s music on others. Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 5. Composed by Dmitri Shostakovich, 1937. YouTube, ​ ​ ​ Google, youtu.be/L__jruvYuCg. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. This is a recording of Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony. The finale serves to show how Shostakovich meant for it to resemble drums beating against your head and saying you must be happy. Dmitri Shostakovich : The Limpid Stream, Suite from the ballet Op. 39a (1934-35). Composed by ​ Dmitri Shostakovich, 1935. YouTube, Google, youtu.be/JKyX5CPai7A. Accessed 10 Jan. ​ ​ 2021. This is an opera by Shostakovich that was denounced due to its Formalist nature. This can be seen as the opera does repeatedly work off the same motifs. Downes, Olin. "CHANGES IN THE SOVIET; Shostakovich Affair Shows Shift in Point Of View in the U.S.S.R." New York Times. The New York Times, ​ ​ ​ ​ www.nytimes.com/1936/04/12/archives/changes-in-the-soviet-shostakovich-affair-shows -shift-in-point-of.html. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. This is a news article written during the time Shostakovich was denounced. It shows the reaction of the people to his denouncement. Eliasberg, Karl. Karl Eliasberg conducting, on 9 August 1942. Culture Matters, ​ ​ www.culturematters.org.uk/index.php/arts/music/item/2829-the-siege-of-leningrad-shosta kovich-and-the-airbrushing-of-history. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. This is an image of Shostakovich’s 9th symphony being conducted. The atmosphere shows the lighthearted nature of the symphony. Gutman, David. Photo of Shostakovich. Gramophone, 9 Jan. 2017, ​ ​ www.gramophone.co.uk/features/article/the-best-recordings-of-shostakovich-s-symphon y-no-10. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. This is an image of Shostakovich gazing pensively into the distance. It was added to the website to show his nature. Gulag Perm 36 in the Urals. RFERL, ​ ​ www.rferl.org/a/gulag-records-being-digitized-not-destroyed-russian-ministry-says/2928 9219.html. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. This is an image of people in the Gulag. It shows the cruelty and strict measures put into place to enforce minor crimes. Image of Shostakovich. The Violin Channel, 9 Aug. 2020, ​ ​ theviolinchannel.com/composer-pianist-dmitri-shostakovich-died-on-this-day-1975/. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. This is another image of Shostakovich sitting on his piano in a white suit. It serves as extra imagery to visualize Shostakovich in his later years. Kilian, Michael. "TAKE THAT, STALIN." Chicago Tribune [Chicago]. Chicago Tribune, ​ ​ ​ ​ www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-01-15-8902250878-story.html. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. This newspaper article chronicles the time after Stalin’s death when the Anti-Soviet Rayok was released by Shostakovich. The writer says that they believe Stalin’s death was a blessing due to the music that was released as a result. Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District. Composed by Dmitri Shostakovich. YouTube, Google, ​ ​ ​ youtu.be/5KAKW4b3BvU. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. This is the main opera that was denounced in the Pravda. Many believe it was denounced by Stalin due to his hate for vulgar operas. Marx, Karl. Manifesto of the Communist Party: By Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ​ ​ The communist manifesto by Karl Marx was the main book that inspired Stalin to join the communist cause. He read it as a schoolboy and it inspired him. Montefiori, Sebag. Young Stalin at Age 23. 1901. Mashable, ​ ​ ​ ​ mashable.com/2016/03/16/young-stalin/. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. This is an image of Stalin as a schoolboy. At this time he was becoming a communist activist and it acts as extra imagery for the website while reading about Stalin’s Rise. Shostakovich, Dmitri. Shostakovich Playing his Second Piano Concerto. MyFavoriteClassical, ​ ​ ​ ​ myfavoriteclassical.com/shostakovich-piano-concerto-no-2/. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. Shostakovich did not perform very often and he was very nervous whenever he did perform. This adds to the readers’ understanding of Shostakovich and his life. ---. Shostakovich Speaking to his Fans. FineArtAmerica, fineartamerica.com/art/shostakovich. ​ ​ Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. Shostakovich speaking in New York to his fans. This shows how widespread Shostakovich’s music was despite how badly he was treated in Russia. Shostakovich, Dmitri, and Isaak Glikman. Story of a Friendship: The Letters of Dmitry ​ Shostakovich to Isaak Glikman, 1941-1975. ​ A chronicle of Shostakovich’s letters to his friend. He talks about his lack of money and his personal beliefs and this serves as a fundamental point for the website. Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 8 with score - Borodin String Quartet. Composed by Dmitri ​ Shostakovich, Borodin String Quartet, 2019. YouTube, Google, youtu.be/uGoxfQ2H3ns. ​ ​ This is a recording of Shostakovich’s 8th String Quartet. Shostakovich includes a cryptogram where the four notes of the theme of this piece spell out his initials. This can be considered formalist but due to the circumstances of this piece, it was let by as it was a testimony to Shostakovich’s life. SHOSTAKOVICH:Symph. No 11 'The Year 1905' in G min op 103-Dir. Valery Gergiev-Orq. Mariinsky theatre. Composed by Dmitri Shostakovich, 1957. YouTube, Google, ​ ​ ​ youtu.be/aONNDVKfsuo. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. A recording of Shostakovich’s 11th Symphony. Shostakovich dedicated it to the year 1905 and the October Revolution yet also included allusions to the massacre the year before. Shostakovich Symphony No. 4 / Valery Gergiev & Münchner Philharmoniker. Composed by ​ Dmitri Shostakovich, Munchner Philharmonic, 1961. YouTube, Google, ​ ​ youtu.be/qj2PJwhatWU. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. This is Shostakovich’s 4th Symphony that was written at a time when Shostakovich was very poor. He wrote a pro-Soviet piece here that was commissioned by the party because he needed the money. Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9 - Bernstein conducts. Composed by Dmitri Shostakovich, 1945. ​ YouTube, Google, youtu.be/AfakIg9E_ao. Accessed 10 Jan. 2021. ​ In Shostakovich’s 9th Symphony, what was meant to be a grand bombastic piece is instead reduced to fluttering wind players. Shostakovich was being very “cheeky” as he was commissioned to compose a victory piece and composed this instead. Soroka, Arkady. Lenin With Peasants. 1965, Boris Wilnitsky Fine Arts. ​ ​ This is an image of Lenin standing with peasants and helping them. This artwork was part of Socialist Realism where all artwork must be realistic but also pro-Soviet.
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