Dmitri Shostakovich:
A Musical Representation of Communist Russia
In the musical world, no one is as controversial as Dmitri Shostakovich. Although he died not 30 years ago, many aspects of his life still remain to be a great mystery. When he was alive, many in the world believed he was a Communist and a devoted servant of Stalin. It was not until after his death that the truth had come out. Or had the truth been there all along? Many believe that this was because his music expressed a lot of nationalism and idolized Stalin. However, in an attempt to escape the red fist of Stalin, Shostakovich made his music appear to be nationalistic when really it is full of sarcasm and hidden messages. Shostakovich showed his contempt Stalin and Communist Russia through sarcasm and the themes of anti-Semitism and persecution in his music.
In order to understand Shostakovich's music, one must look at Russian history. When Communist Russia was first established early in the 20th Century, many......
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Approximate Word Count: 3072
Approximate Pages: 12 (260 words per double-spaced page) |