1. The Life and Music of Dimitri Shostakovich
... of writing a piece in the party approved, super simple, ultranationalist style, he wrote a symphony based on the model pioneered by one of the few unforbidden composers, Beethoven. Like Beethoven, Shostakovich started his symphony with a movement written in a bold form called "Sonata"." But Shostakovich's sonata has a hesitant and uncertain feel. No matter how the music begins, it comes to a dead end. Nearly always in the implacable repetition of three fateful notes ... . In the course of this movement, in fact in the entire symphony, the music arrives ... ...
- Word Count: 3530
- Approx Pages: 14
- Grade Level: High School