... . His parents were Dmitri Bolesav and Sofia Vasilyevna. His children are Maxim and Galina Shostakovich. At the age of 13, Shostakovich proved his musical talents by attending the Petrograd Conservatory where he studied piano and composition. In 1932, his opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District displeased Joseph Stalin. The Soviet leader's reaction nearly had Shostakovich imprisoned. To protect himself, Shostakovich ... As in most classical music endings, a triumphant sound of victory typically ends in happiness and finality. However, Shostakovich uses one note to change the sound of t...

• Word Count: 561
• Approx Pages: 2

... " when it is heard. It has as many incarnations as performers and performances, each one distinctly different. A responsible performer must intimately understand each piece he will perform, not only the notes on the page, but its historical background. Several things must be understood before one can perform a piece successfully. First, a performer must analyze the piece, determine its form and harmonic ... in memorization, the analysis will give the performer direction. By identifying the form and harmonic structure of a piece, a performer can find those moments of tension and release. ...

• Word Count: 1249
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... arias, a solo voice with an orchestral accompaniment in an opera (Forney and Machlis, A-6). She used melodies, rhythms, chord progressions, and the placement of trills carefully. By doing this she presented each character in the opera in his or her own unique way. Caccini's talented work proved that in the ... , much like other pieces of the impressionistic period. Boulanger made her music dreamy and fairy-light in many ways, using different instrumentation. Some examples are as follows: in the piece "D'un soir triste,"" she used a muted tam-tam crash, bass drums, off-beat notes on a har...

• Word Count: 1221
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... arias, a solo voice with an orchestral accompaniment in an opera (Forney and Machlis, A-6). She used melodies, rhythms, chord progressions, and the placement of trills carefully. By doing this she presented each character in the opera in his or her own unique way. Caccini's talented work proved that in the ... , much like other pieces of the impressionistic period. Boulanger made her music dreamy and fairy-light in many ways, using different instrumentation. Some examples are as follows: in the piece "D'un soir triste,"" she used a muted tam-tam crash, bass drums, off-beat notes on a har...

• Word Count: 1121
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... . In this era, instrumental technology developed and instruments were improved to have equal temperament, to play any key and a new key order system, which resulted in the compositions of keyboard music. The viol, which was the primary string instrument before this era was replaced with the violin, which was further modified to be used as a solo instrument. ... the Baroque era. It articulated a smoother, more synchronized form with flexibility in rhythm, contrast and mood to express more than one emotion. It introduced a balance of musical notes and melodies, which developed the piano th...

• Word Count: 927
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... therefore I find a deeper admiration while listening to the piece. I also like the piece because my cousin and I often play the piece in a duet. (Me on guitar, my cousin on the piano or synthesized harpsichord) • I give the piece a profundity value of 8 out of 10, as I believe that all renowned classical music deserves a high profundity rating. This is due to the tremendous amount ... pieces. This piece in particular illustrates 3 different emotions/environments. The first being quite fast and blissful. The second is somewhat lethargic, as if it were taking a break from the fast notes...

• Word Count: 817
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School