Analysis Of Shostakovich's 5th Symphony

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FIRST MOVEMENT

The first movement begins with the cello. Shortly afterwards, the viola, second and first violins enter successively in a canonic treatment of a four-note motif: D, E-flat, C and B.
In German musical notation these notes are written as D, S, C, and H. Shostakovich used these to stand for his initials in German transliteration: D. Sch. (Dmitri Shostakovich), also pronounced as “De-Es-Ce-Ha."

Later in the movement, a quote from the opening of his First Symphony (1926), is heard, which is the piece that first brought fame to Shostakovich. The original context was a playfully duet for trumpet and bassoon:

In the Quartet (figure 1 in the music), the music is greatly slowed down and sounds like the expression of an old man …show more content…

This three repeated notes, for those who back the idea of this piece being dedicated to the victims of the Dresden bombings, are said to be bombs falling. On the other hand, Shostakovich repeats small, rhythmical motives comprising three repeated notes in many of his other pieces (String Quartet n°10, Symphony n°5). In the finale of his Fifth Symphony, these repeated notes have been declared by Shostakovich to be a parody representing “forced rejoicing”: “The rejoicing is forced, created under threat, as in Boris Godunov. It's as if someone were beating you with a stick and saying, "Your business is rejoicing, your business is rejoicing," and you rise, shaky, and go marching off, muttering, "Our business is rejoicing, our business is rejoicing.” 


This movement also includes a beautiful quotation in the 1st violin (figure 58 in the music), this is the only quote in the piece that is not from one of Shostakovich’s own previous works. It is a revolutionary song, said to be Lenin’s favorite: “Exhausted by the hardships of prison”, which had been sung by the Bolshoi chorus at Lenin’s funeral, and was known to be one of his favourites.

In addition, the cello quotes from Katerina’s Aria from the fourth act of his opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District.
FIFTH …show more content…

The particular pieces he quotes raise doubts about the connection of the quartet to the second world-war and the victims of fascism. It is questionable to suggest that Shostakovich’s First and Fifth Symphonies might have anything to do with the bombings in Dresden, because both pieces were first performed in 1926 and 1937 respectively. The First Symphony was premiered seven years before Hitler’s ascent to power, and the Fifth Symphony was written two years before Stalin’s Pact with Hitler and four years before the German invasion in

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