How Did Dmitri Shostakovich Destroy Jewish Culture

Improved Essays
Although Dmitri Shostakovich’s song cycle From Jewish Folk Poetry does not have the international acclaim as some of his bigger orchestral works, it still remains one of his most powerful pieces that acted as a vehicle for his artistic and moral resistance against the rise of anti-Semitism in Soviet Russia during the end of Stalin’s life. From Jewish Folk Poetry was first composed in 1948 for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, and piano, and then later orchestrated in 1963. In 1948, not only was Shostakovich aware of Stalin’s efforts to destroy Jewish culture which was deemed as a threat to Soviet society, Shostakovich knew the horrors of Nazism and the Holocaust’s attempt to annihilate European Jewry. 1948 was also a significant year because

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Holocaust was one of the twentieth century's greatest tragedy that left a mark of tragic and horror to all Jews. The tragedy began on January 30th 1933 and ended on May 8th 1945. The holocaust was a miserable time for the jews and other religious beliefs. The nazi army took jews captive and took them from their homes leaving them with only a suit case or two not leaving them with much. The jews would only take their most valuable possessions that was carried in the family like gold, diamonds, necklaces, ring and ect.…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Symphony No.5, Shastokovich • Russian composer Dmitri Shastokovich composed Symphony No.5 between April and July 1937 • Shastokovich wrote this symphony after he received backlash from Stalin and the rest of Russia, as Stalin was appalled at the material in Shastokovich’s 1933 opera Lady Macbeth of Mzensk. After this Shastokovich was deemed an ‘enemy of the state’. • This symphony united the ideologies and ideals of Russian communism by creating crowd-pleasing music yet still incorporated Shastokovich’s signature avant-garde style. • Due to the contrast of his much more ‘socially correct’ and ‘crowd pleasing’ public pieces and his much more adventurous private pieces there is much speculation as to whether Shastokovich was a genuine believer…

    • 181 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The reason for this essay is to shine light to one of the most famous Russian composers to ever exist. Many people know the works of Tchaikovsky, but have no idea who is responsible for them. Tchaikovsky was one of the most influential Russian composers because of the works he created, his construction of Russian classical music, and the challenges…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Nutcracker and The Rite of Spring are some of the most influential ballets ever produced. In this paper, I will be describing the composers, what influenced the writers, what the ballets are about, and I will contrast the two works of art. Since these greats works of art are so influential, it is important to talk about them their importance when they were created and what impact they still have today. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky or better known as Peter Ilyich Tchaikovosky, was the man who composed The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty.…

    • 1706 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Night by Elie Wiesel, Wiesel encapsulates the horrors of persecution from his experiences in the Holocaust, and how such cruelty breeds men into beasts. As readers, we began to question: what differentiates us from animals? By examining the behaviors seen in the initial deportation of The Jews of Sighet, Wiesel’s witness to the killings over bread and Juliek’s last violin concerto, we are able to see how apathy and empathy defines us as ‘humans’. ‘Ignorance is bliss,’ and such is the case of the Sighet Jews. Their ignorance of their situation has caused their demise – blinded from the truth due to governmental propaganda and lack of information.…

    • 1310 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Jewish Revolution Dbq

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Jewish Revolution Thought the Holocaust the Jewish revolted, but how? The Holocaust was the start of World War II. The Jewish people would be sent to concentration camps, execution camps, or ghettos. All around they had horrible living conditions and weren’t even considered humans. The Jews had to stop the Nazis from taking over in forceful and peaceful ways.…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “And yet Terezin, according to Norbert Fryd, if not the hell that Auschwitz was, was an anteroom to hell,” ("Verdi 's "Requiem"). Even though Terezin was a great sample of how music was used during the Holocaust against the Jews, it was hardly the only example. Music was heard in many ghettos, concentration camps, and partisan outposts of Nazi-controlled Europe,” (“United States Holocaust Memorial Museum”). It was mostly used to make the Jews feel they were inferior to everyone else; this only made the Jews revolt…

    • 1287 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Most people know very little about the most infamous case of genocide in the world, the Holocaust. Altogether, the Holocaust was the mass murder of over six million Jews and other persecuted groups under the German Nazi direction in the 1940’s. Jews were led into camps where they died in horrific, inhuman ways. Between the number of people killed, methodology of the killing, and the premeditated destruction that was allowed by the entire world, the Holocaust is one of the most important genocides in the history of the globe. After World War I, the Germans were made to pay heavily for the war.…

    • 1641 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Maus: A Survivor's Tale

    • 1320 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Maus explains the past and present story of Holocaust survivor Vladek Spiegelman. Art, his son, wrote this graphic novel to learn about his father’s experiences in the Holocaust. He depicts Jews as mice, Germans as cats, and Poles as pigs. It goes through Vladek’s whole journey from marrying his wife, Anja, to ending up in Auschwitz. In “Maus: A Survivor’s Tale”, by Art Spiegelman, the author shows through family relationships, not only the struggles and hardships that Vladek, the main character, endures throughout the Holocaust, but also the difficulties he has appreciating his family after he survives.…

    • 1320 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pictures are worth a thousand words, but classical music is worth far more than that. From medieval to baroque to romantic, classical music has been used to eloquently articulate emotions in a way in which words do not suffice. Emotions can be generalized as jovial or lugubrious, stern or radiant, but classical music mixes all them. Modern 20th century composer Dmitri Shostakovich composed a range of musical works, ranging from operas to symphonies. However, one work often overlooked are his pieces for string quartets.…

    • 1019 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The absolute horror of the Holocaust has made it difficult and sometimes controversial to depict it in various forms of media. Two such works of art, Son of Saul and Maus, take very unique approaches to trying to capture the experiences of the Holocaust. Both works share key themes such as the importance of family in maintaining hope and the perpetrator conflict with Jews and Poles. Of course, the two works aren’t exactly the same and there are some major thematic differences. Perhaps the most striking difference is the difference in the identity politics narrative that can be seen in both works.…

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Beethoven was German born and then moved to Vienna in his twenties to study with Haydn. Beethoven served as a transitional figure between the Classical and Romantic eras in western art. But where does Beethoven fit into the Regime’s repurposing of German music? Beethoven once said “strength is the morality of the man who stands out from the rest” representing a German spirit that Hitler identified with. This attitude accompanied with an overwhelming love of Beethoven by the German people made him a member of the elite group of Hitler’s glorified…

    • 1347 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Late Composition Style

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Samuel Shuhan MuHL-570 11 December 2015 Professor Bruce Brown A Closer Look at Rachmaninoff’s Late Composition Style Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances”, written in in 1940, are unique because of their orchestration, titles, and melodic and harmonic content. The piece differs from other compositions of Rachmaninoff’s because it implements a nationalist composition style, yet also bears influence from contemporary composers. Charles Fisk differs, stating that “In America and Western Europe, a commonly held critical view of Rachmaninov still persists today: that he was fundamentally a blinkered nineteenth-century composer, a holdover from the past, who was able to achieve spectacular success far and wide with audiences who shared his reluctance…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The book “Disenchantment” by Catherine D. Chatterley visits the life of George Steiner and his works throughout the years. George Steiner spent his life exploring the arts of the language and its uses to explain different human phenomena. This essay will examine Steiner’s theory of antisemitism and his understanding of the Shoah. To fully understand Steiner’s views on the Shoah and his blackmail of transcendence theory, there is a need to understand Steiner’s fundamental views on Jewish tradition and history. Steiner was born and raised in Paris and lived there until he moved to New York with his parents and sister when he was eleven.…

    • 1797 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The period of adaptation was very rough for both of them. Victor, not a child anymore, did not care for yet another stranger in his life; he did not listen to Ghenya, argued with her, and when something was not to his liking, he ran away from home for hours, leaving poor women in tears. Ghenya, who never had any children, did not know how to approach Victor, her disciplinarian methods were yelling and spanking. She was a hard worker with minimum education and a very harsh life; life where each ruble was counted and re-counted before it was spent. Aunt Ghenya always worked night shifts, so Victor could sleep on that one creaking bed; her sleeping times were during the day, while he was in school.…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays