The third movement is also structured as a rondo (A-B-A'-C-A''-B'-A'''). It begins with a grim chorale on woodwinds as the main theme, expressively taken and unfolded by strings. After a briefly antiphonal exchange between woodwinds and strings, a deeply lyrical and nostalgic second theme is introduced by the flute, soon in a duo and then on violin over pizzicati. The main theme is then recapitulated in a more hopeful tone. A violent central section unleashes with a turbulent third theme on strings and winds, lashing out with great bitterness and fury. After a dissonant climax and the music calms down, the main theme expressively reappears on strings, followed by the second theme on violas. The main theme is recapitulated once again. Three tam-tam blows lead us directly into the final part. The fourth movement is written in ternary form. It opens with a contemplative theme on strings, surging from the depths and soon transformed into a heroic and wilful main theme. It grows more and more powerful and imposing until reaching a massive and bellicose climax. After the music gradually winds down, a broad chorale-like second theme is introduced by strings, unravelled as a tragic lament. Cellos gradually lead us to a long and constant crescendo that is the rest of the movement. The main theme, little by little, reappears with great force, growing more and more triumphal. Then the opening theme of the work, that noble theme of Russian spirit, reappears in the beginning of the massive final coda. The whole work ends with a resolute blaze in C major. As we have seen in Shostakovich's fifth symphony, the piece's meaning is complex and diffuse, not helped by the composer's declarations. When checking different booklets about recordings of the piece, one can see that almost every one paints a different narrative or focuses on completely different aspects. For that reason, I will present a multi-layered view on each series of narratives surrounding the work. Despite the simplicity of the symphony's core elements, the symbolic meanings are abundant, perhaps even more than in Shostakovich's fifth symphony. The first layer is also the most superficial narrative, mostly pushed by soviet authorities as a propaganda tool. In it, the seventh was a war symphony that reflected the siege of Leningrad and the whole war in an almost programmatic way. This narrative is supported by the fact that each movement had subtitles before they were dropped; "War", "Memories", "Home Expanses" and "Victory". The first movement showed a happy life (exposition of main themes) before the German army invaded the country (march theme of the bolero), answered by the Russian army (climax of the development). The second movement represented the bittersweet memories before the war, the third was both a portrayal of the motherland and a lament for the fallen, and the fourth represented the final victory of the Soviet army against the German beast. The second layer is that the piece is purely abstract, and the war and Leningrad siege were merely an inspiration to portray musically a universal struggle. In this case, for example, the invasion wouldn't refer to the German, but to evil more broadly. This narrative is supported by Shostakovich's removal of the subtitles and the declaration that the piece did not directly portray the conflict. This view of the piece is greatly neglected, as so many people focus on the socio-political context surrounding the piece rather than the piece itself; its formal structure, its thematic material, its orchestration, etc. The third layer presents Shostakovich as a dissident using the war and the siege as a smokescreen. This narrative is supported by subtle hints by Shostakovich himself, the testimonies of close friends, and the content of the book "Testimony" by Solomon Volkov. According to it, the piece was largely finished on the composer's mind before the invasion began. Its all an illusion that refers to Stalin as the real enemy, as said in the next paragraph: "Actually I have nothing against calling the Seventh the Leningrad, but it's not about Leningrad under siege. It's about the Leningrad that Stalin destroyed and that Hitler merely finished off." The violence and tragedy thus present within the work does not merely refer to the horrors of war and nazism, but also to the horrors of stalinism. Regardless of what narrative you think its more approximate, the reality is that the work's ambiguity can not be fully resolved in favour of one, even the three could be correct at the same time, as Shostakovich's double-faced language allows for it. Again I want to remind the reader that these are just my interpretations, and that the music itself should be, at the end, the primary focus.
You do a good job laying out the situation surrounding the work..I have learned much and experience music never before heard by my ears but have thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from laying in this hospital bed 🛌 with my body broken as a result of getting a direct hit on my electric scooter collision 💥 with car turning directly into me...horrible experience but am eager to listen to the wonderful music of shostakovich..thank you..
Great upload of this epic, evocative symphony - also a kind of cycle of movements! I've heard the work played live several times (including streamed live from Saint Petersburg itself). Thank you!
I live in iran and while i’m writing this my country is attacking isreal From the deepest level of my heart i can feel what shostakovich wrote And don’t be scared we are not terrorists Shostakovich both composed the beauty of winnig the war , singing the anthem of your country , hail to the blood etc. but he also mentioned the brutal truth about war And this is the beauty of it I hope we all see the peace our lives
The third movement is also structured as a rondo (A-B-A'-C-A''-B'-A'''). It begins with a grim chorale on woodwinds as the main theme, expressively taken and unfolded by strings. After a briefly antiphonal exchange between woodwinds and strings, a deeply lyrical and nostalgic second theme is introduced by the flute, soon in a duo and then on violin over pizzicati. The main theme is then recapitulated in a more hopeful tone. A violent central section unleashes with a turbulent third theme on strings and winds, lashing out with great bitterness and fury. After a dissonant climax and the music calms down, the main theme expressively reappears on strings, followed by the second theme on violas. The main theme is recapitulated once again. Three tam-tam blows lead us directly into the final part.
The fourth movement is written in ternary form. It opens with a contemplative theme on strings, surging from the depths and soon transformed into a heroic and wilful main theme. It grows more and more powerful and imposing until reaching a massive and bellicose climax. After the music gradually winds down, a broad chorale-like second theme is introduced by strings, unravelled as a tragic lament. Cellos gradually lead us to a long and constant crescendo that is the rest of the movement. The main theme, little by little, reappears with great force, growing more and more triumphal. Then the opening theme of the work, that noble theme of Russian spirit, reappears in the beginning of the massive final coda. The whole work ends with a resolute blaze in C major.
As we have seen in Shostakovich's fifth symphony, the piece's meaning is complex and diffuse, not helped by the composer's declarations. When checking different booklets about recordings of the piece, one can see that almost every one paints a different narrative or focuses on completely different aspects. For that reason, I will present a multi-layered view on each series of narratives surrounding the work. Despite the simplicity of the symphony's core elements, the symbolic meanings are abundant, perhaps even more than in Shostakovich's fifth symphony.
The first layer is also the most superficial narrative, mostly pushed by soviet authorities as a propaganda tool. In it, the seventh was a war symphony that reflected the siege of Leningrad and the whole war in an almost programmatic way. This narrative is supported by the fact that each movement had subtitles before they were dropped; "War", "Memories", "Home Expanses" and "Victory". The first movement showed a happy life (exposition of main themes) before the German army invaded the country (march theme of the bolero), answered by the Russian army (climax of the development). The second movement represented the bittersweet memories before the war, the third was both a portrayal of the motherland and a lament for the fallen, and the fourth represented the final victory of the Soviet army against the German beast.
The second layer is that the piece is purely abstract, and the war and Leningrad siege were merely an inspiration to portray musically a universal struggle. In this case, for example, the invasion wouldn't refer to the German, but to evil more broadly. This narrative is supported by Shostakovich's removal of the subtitles and the declaration that the piece did not directly portray the conflict. This view of the piece is greatly neglected, as so many people focus on the socio-political context surrounding the piece rather than the piece itself; its formal structure, its thematic material, its orchestration, etc.
The third layer presents Shostakovich as a dissident using the war and the siege as a smokescreen. This narrative is supported by subtle hints by Shostakovich himself, the testimonies of close friends, and the content of the book "Testimony" by Solomon Volkov. According to it, the piece was largely finished on the composer's mind before the invasion began. Its all an illusion that refers to Stalin as the real enemy, as said in the next paragraph: "Actually I have nothing against calling the Seventh the Leningrad, but it's not about Leningrad under siege. It's about the Leningrad that Stalin destroyed and that Hitler merely finished off." The violence and tragedy thus present within the work does not merely refer to the horrors of war and nazism, but also to the horrors of stalinism.
Regardless of what narrative you think its more approximate, the reality is that the work's ambiguity can not be fully resolved in favour of one, even the three could be correct at the same time, as Shostakovich's double-faced language allows for it. Again I want to remind the reader that these are just my interpretations, and that the music itself should be, at the end, the primary focus.
You do a good job laying out the situation surrounding the work..I have learned much and experience music never before heard by my ears but have thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from laying in this hospital bed 🛌 with my body broken as a result of getting a direct hit on my electric scooter collision 💥 with car turning directly into me...horrible experience but am eager to listen to the wonderful music of shostakovich..thank you..
Thank you for your comment Tom, I hope you recover and get to walk soon enough!
Great upload of this epic, evocative symphony - also a kind of cycle of movements! I've heard the work played live several times (including streamed live from Saint Petersburg itself). Thank you!
I live in iran and while i’m writing this my country is attacking isreal
From the deepest level of my heart i can feel what shostakovich wrote
And don’t be scared we are not terrorists
Shostakovich both composed the beauty of winnig the war , singing the anthem of your country , hail to the blood etc. but he also mentioned the brutal truth about war
And this is the beauty of it
I hope we all see the peace our lives
Bless you! Hope you're alright
Toda este ciclo sinfónico de Shostakovich con Petrenko está resultando espléndido. Muchas gracias.
Monumental ending - TY
This is the one that always gets me right to my marrow.