One of the most disturbing symphonies I have heard is Dmitri Shostakovich's Eight Symphony. I can't even begin to describe it. Shostakovich was hyped by the Soviets as the bard of communism. Listening to the third movement, it seems to me that the symphony was supposed to praise the achievements of Soviet Russia. Since the music was composed during the worst days of Stalinist oppression, it is hard to believe that Shostakovich remained unaffected by it all. In fact, the resulting music sounds really creepy, as if the Russian army were about to March into Eastern and Central Europe, subjugating its peoples and erecting the so-called Iron Curtain.
So did Shostakovich really endorse Soviet Communism through his music, or was he a musical dissident that presented disguised challenges to the oppressive system he was supposed to endorse? The debate still rages more than 30 years after his death.
The third movement marked Allegro non troppo has an obsessive, primal crotchet pattern that demands a high level of musicality, concentration and precision of ensemble. The viola starts out the ostinato, then the violins and incredibly the trombones and tuba all hurtle through the performance to create an atmosphere of triumph but redolent of fear and paranoia as well.
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