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Shostakovich

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Born / died

1906-1975

Movement

Romantic

Location

Born in Saint Petersburg

Friends / contemporaries

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninoff +3 more

role: composer · 90%era: Romanticmovement: Romantic1906–1975

Movement

Romantic

How this movement sounds

rubatochromatic harmonybig climaxesricher timbrelong lyrical linesnarrative feel

Romantic listening cues: heightened emotion, longer lyrical melodies, and more freedom with rubato (flexible timing) in performance.

Harmony is often more chromatic, with colorful chords and side-steps that create tension and release over longer spans. You may hear more delayed resolutions and more 'yearning' harmonic motion.

Dynamics and texture often expand: thicker sonorities, bigger climaxes, and a strong sense of narrative or character (even in purely instrumental music).

In piano music, listen for the use of pedaling and resonance to create a halo around harmony; in orchestral music, listen for richer timbre and denser voicing (inner lines matter).

A useful trick: follow the bass line. In Romantic music it often shapes the drama, pulling the harmony through longer arcs rather than short phrase punctuation.

How Shostakovich sounds

rubatorich harmonylong melodybig dynamicscoloristic pedal

Romantic music tends to foreground emotion and color: long singing melodies, flexible tempo (rubato), and harmony that stretches and sighs.

You often hear thicker textures, wider dynamic range, and a more "orchestral" use of the piano with deep bass and resonant pedaling.

Look for heightened contrast and personal voice: the same musical gesture can feel intimate one moment and heroic the next.

Wikipedia

Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (25 September [O.S.Wikipedia

12 September] 1906 – 9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostakovich achieved early fame in the Soviet Union, but had a complex relationship with its government.Wikipedia

His 1934 opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was initially a success but later condemned by the Soviet government, putting his career at risk. In 1948, his work was denounced under the Zhdanov Doctrine, with professional consequences lasting several years. Even after his censure was rescinded in 1956, performances of his music were occasionally subject to state interventions, as with his Thirteenth Symphony (1962).Wikipedia

Nevertheless, Shostakovich was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (1947) and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (from 1962 until his death), as well as chairman of the RSFSR Union of Composers (1960–1968). Over the course of his career, he earned several important awards, including the Order of Lenin, from the Soviet government. Shostakovich combined various musical techniques in his works.Wikipedia

His music is characterized by sharp contrasts, elements of the grotesque, and ambivalent tonality; he was also heavily influenced by neoclassicism and by the music of Gustav Mahler. His orchestral works…Wikipedia

Study resources & scores

Curated study material and indexed score links related to Shostakovich.

Lecture 20. The Colossal Symphony: Beethoven, Berlioz, Mahler and Shostakovich

Yale (YouTube) · lecture · youtube, transcript

Open transcript Open source

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YouTube · published 2026-08-14 · 35m

Shostakovich – Violin Concerto No. 2 | Isabelle Faust | Cristian Măcelaru | WDR Symphony Orchestra

2026Isabelle FaustConcertoSymphony35m

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