Dmitri Shostakovich and Johann Sebastian Bach
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) was one of the greatest composers of Soviet Russia. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is regarded today as the father of Western music. They came from opposite ends of music history and lived in entirely different environments, but Shostakovich was undoubtedly influenced by Bach’s music, and their respective musical styles came from the same core tradition of Western music. But most importantly, underneath the obvious differences and the subtle similarities, these composers shared the same artistic spirit.
Before looking more closely at the composers’ works, they must be placed in their proper historical contexts. Bach was a great composer of the Enlightenment. All his life he wanted to find a court post, with its increased liberty and financial backing (he had a family of twenty), but he never progressed beyond the Baroque equivalent of a Lutheran minister of music, who was expected to provide new music each week for the Sunday service. By the end of his life, his son C.P.E. Bach was far more famous than Johann ever was.
In comparison, Shostakovich was an adolescent during the Russian Revolution of 1917, and for the rest of his life he lived in an uneasy relationship with the ideologically oppressive authorities. His life was difficult, but from his very first symphony of 1925 he was hailed as one of the greatest composers of his day. He had two public clashes with Stalin’s totalitarian regime, but survived. Today, a fierce argument rages over his actual political leanings: he never publicly showed dissatisfaction with communism, but his supposed memoirs paint a very different picture.
The world of music changed greatly between the eight...
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...stery, which the Enlightenment attempted to quantify. This is where his joy came from. Shostakovich’s horror originated in the oppression of the Communists, and to him, the ultimate meaning was in the essential qualities of humanity, which he saw threatened by Stalin.
Russians are obsessed with issues of death and eternity, the universal quandaries and paradoxes, which they call “the cursed questions.” Bach and Shostakovich were not the only composers who grappled with these issues, but they are unique in that they saw the answering of these questions to be part of their artistic task. They answered them in different ways, but their final answers are not incompatible. They answered them according to their own times and thoughts, and no matter the answer, they pursued it with integrity, honesty, and an artistic passion that few other composers have ever matched.
Debussy was the first modernist composer; and considered by many to be the greatest French writer, this was because he was not a part of the common fundamental German tradition in music. Instead of following to the rules created at an earlier time for common practice harmony, he liked to make up his own chords, which he called "chords with no names." He is known for composing "Voiles" and "The Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun." He was connected to the symbolist poetic movement and known for using selective orchestration. Debussy's famous opera, Pelléas et Mélisande, was completed in 1895. It became a sensation when it was first performed
I can remember being a young boy, spending several hours throughout the days watching cartoons. I can definitely relate to classical music being played in these cartoons, like the mentioned classic, Bugs Bunny. “Bugs Bunny was quite the concert musician”(“Classical Masterpieces Turn Up”). I vaguely remember Bugs Bunny attempting to play classical music tunes, but I did not know they were classicals at a young age. The music I was hearing contributed to everything I was feeling. This classical tune that had a rising tempo when something dramatic was happening, caused me to feel excited and thrilled. This classical tune that began to get louder and stronger when intense moments in the cartoon came about, caught my attention. I was physically unable to turn away, my favorite character was running from the evil man, and the tempo sped. I had no idea how much of an impact classical music played into my childhood until this assignment.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven are very famous past composers that have created many pieces that have influenced not just people of their time, but people in modern times as well.
Fay, Laurel E. ‘Shostakovich vs. Volkov: whose Testimony?’ The Russian Review (October 1980), pp. 484-93.
Karl Marx 's writing of ‘The Communist Manifesto’ in 1848 has been documented by a vast number of academics as one of the most influential pieces of political texts written in the modern era. Its ideologically driven ideas formed the solid foundation of the Communist movement throughout the 20th century, offering a greater alternative for those who were rapidly becoming disillusioned and frustrated with the growing wealth and social divisions created by capitalism. A feeling not just felt in by a couple of individuals in one society, but a feeling that was spreading throughout various societies worldwide. As Toma highlights in his work, Marx felt that ‘capitalism would produce a crisis-ridden, polarized society destined to be taken over by
Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the most famous German composers of his time. All of his work was mostly during the baroque era. The baroque period was from 1600 to 1750 and it is known to be one of the most diverse musical periods as opposed to the other classical music eras. It was in this era that “included composer like Bach, Vivaldi and Handel, who pioneered new styles like the concerto and the sonata.”(Classic FM) Johann Sebastian was born in the midst of the Baroque era as he was born on March 31, 1685 in Thuringia, Germany. Johann came from a family of musicians, which is how he himself became one as well. It was his father who showed him how to play his first instrument, which was the violin. His father was also a well-known musician in his town as he “worked as the town musician in Eisenach.”(Johann Sebastian Bach) It is known that Johann Sebastian went to a school that taught him
Johann Sebastian Bach was born into a family of musicians. It was only natural for him to pick up an instrument and excel in it. His father taught him how to play the violin and harpsichord at a very young age. All of Bach’s uncles were professional musicians, one of them; Johann Christoph Bach introduced him to the organ. Bach hit a turning point in his life when both of his parents died at the age of ten years old. Bach’s older brother Johann Christoph Bach took him in and immediately expanded his knowledge in the world of music. He taught him how to play the clavichord and exposed him to great composers at the time. At the age of fourteen, Bach and his good friend George Erdmann were awarded a choral scholarship to the prestigious musical school St. Michael’s in Luneburg. From then on, Bach began to build his career in the music industry. His first two years at the school he sang in the school’s a cappella choir. Historical evidence has shown that Bach at a young age would visit Johanniskirche and would listen to the works of organ player Jasper Johannsen. This was thought to have been the inspiration to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Studying at the prestigious musical school has help Bach network his way around and become acquaintances’ with some of the best organ players at the time such as Georg Böhm, and Johann Adam Reincken. Through his acquaintance with Böhm and Reincken Bach had access to some of the greatest and finest instruments.
In the passage by Igor Stravinsky, he uses not only comparison and contrast, but also language to convey his point of view about the conductors of the time and their extreme egotism. Stravinsky believes that conductors exploit the music for their own personal gain, so rather, he looks on them in a negative light.
Alcohol has been around since ancient times, the original purpose was to treat water for bacteria. However as time went on people began to find other uses and side effects of alcohol. Human nature is of course is to either make money off of, or enjoy to the heart’s content and available substance. Today’s culture of social media, celebrity heroes, and pressure to fit in has driven many people, young and old, to drink. The effects of alcohol are what drive many over people to drink. Euphoria, forgetfulness, playfulness, social confidence, and courage are all some of the feelings many gain from consumption. Many people, especially new drinkers or teenagers do not understand the danger and adverse effects the alcohol has not only from long term but also short term consumption. Today’s drinkers are highly uneducated and do not understand key issues surrounding alcohol like:
Détente is the name recognised for a period of improved relations and relaxed tensions between nations, specifically the United States and the Soviet Union, which began somewhat unwillingly in 1971. The détente, which President Richard Nixon and his advisor Henry Kissinger had launched, was believed to be a kickback to the perceived decline in U.S. power, the rise of Soviet power, and the growing dangers of uncontrolled competition between the two superpowers. It was made clear that the policy was significant to the two nations when President Richard Nixon of the United States visited the cold war enemies’ secretary-general of the Soviet Communist Party, Leonid Brezhnev in Moscow, May 1972.
Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven both flourished in their compositions of classical music; however, their genre of music differed considerably. Bach was a German composer during the Baroque time era of western music which is estimated to have taken place during 1600 to 1750. It was during this time that he composed prolific church organ music which included such works as the Mass in B Minor, much scared choral music, and the St. Matthew Passion, as well as composing over a thousand works in nearly every musical genre except opera. On the other hand, Beethoven was a German composer whom began to emerge during the classical era of western music twenty years after Bach. This era took place throughout the years1750 and 1830. The large quantity of arrangements, over two hundred works in numerous musical genres composed by Beethoven was significantly influenced by his predecessors, onset of deafness, and his highly personal expression of intellectual depth. Such works include the first an...
To conclude, the ideology of Marxism makes sense and is a major concept but history has disapproves this theory. The confusion
During the hard and cruel era of Stalinism, Shostakovich had the courage to express the desolation of his people by method of remarkable dramatic feeling; hence, his music became a moral support for all who were persecuted. Sofia Gubaidulina reflected, "The circumstances he lived under were unbearably cruel, more than anyone should have to endure." With Stravinsky and Prokofiev, Shostakovich embodies the culmination of 20th Century Russian music, but unlike his contemporaries, he is unique in having composed his entire opus within the framework of Soviet aesthetics. When forced onto the defensive, he did not dispute; but instead overcame the limitations of socialist realism and infused throughout his works his belief in the final victory of justice, which transformed his music into a powerful stimulus to the spirit of resistance and freedom.
Born from the revolutions of 1848 throughout Europe, Marxism sought to end the class struggles that were destroying the continent. The solution to the problems of all nations occurred to Marx to be Socialism, a branch that is presently known as Marxism. Under this seemingly “utopian” socioeconomic system, equality was granted to all citizens who were in essence a community of one. “. . . universal free education; arming of the people; a progressive income tax; limitations upon inheritance; state ownership of banks. . .”(Palmer 506). These rights of which constituted Marxism eventually went on to be incorporated in Leninism and modern-day socialism. At least in its beginning, the intent of Marxism and the Communist League were noble towards the goal o...
The writings of Karl Marx spell out the philosophic foundations of his radicalism. Marx’s philosophy is complicated and detailed. However, the central theme to Marx’s theories was his view that economic forces were increasingly oppressing human beings and his belief that political action and change were necessary. Marx’s thinking is a reaction to the industrial society of the mid ninete...