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. Being strictly influenced by the political situation of the USSR, the emotions evoked are profound in this particular facet of his musical works. Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8 expresses the society he lived in,
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For example, the eighth quartet was written in Dresden, Germany, where an attack was made during World War II in 1960. While on vacation and during the course of his career, he wrote letters to his secretary, Isaak Glikman. After his vacation, one letter wrote, “if some day I die, nobody is likely to write a work in memory of me, so I had better write one myself” (Kettle). This excerpt from the letter describes how he had thoughts of suicide, meaning that the quartet he composed would have been his suicide letter. Knowing this, the mood that the quartet conveys becomes much darker. This relates to a musical analysis of his quartet that evaluates his technical aspects. It states, “Shostakovich was composing a highly personal quartet in which he, his person, his circumstances and his emotions are the protagonists” (Harris). These two pieces of information can be brought together to show that his quartet was written to create a dark and eerie mood. Since he was contemplating suicide during the time, his emotions would be dark and sorrowful. Along with Harris’ interpretation, not only is his quartet expressing anxiety of the Communist Party, but also the impacts of that on his own character. Overall, the emotions evoked from this quartet consist of fear and misery caused by the circumstances he lived …show more content…
The Communist Party heavily restricted what he could and could not write, he received heavy backlash from the public, he experienced traumatic events when we composed this quartet, and he also had suicidal thoughts during this time as well. All of this comes together nicely to evoke an eerie mood upon the audience. His work is especially important as it clearly displays the effects of society on the production of a work of art. Despite this work being several decades old, his intent is still strongly conveyed by how well he wrote out his
For example, the eighth quartet was written in Dresden, Germany, where an attack was made during World War II in 1960. While on vacation and during the course of his career, he wrote letters to his secretary, Isaak Glikman. After his vacation, one letter wrote, “if some day I die, nobody is likely to write a work in memory of me, so I had better write one myself” (Kettle). This excerpt from the letter describes how he had thoughts of suicide, meaning that the quartet he composed would have been his suicide letter. Knowing this, the mood that the quartet conveys becomes much darker. This relates to a musical analysis of his quartet that evaluates his technical aspects. It states, “Shostakovich was composing a highly personal quartet in which he, his person, his circumstances and his emotions are the protagonists” (Harris). These two pieces of information can be brought together to show that his quartet was written to create a dark and eerie mood. Since he was contemplating suicide during the time, his emotions would be dark and sorrowful. Along with Harris’ interpretation, not only is his quartet expressing anxiety of the Communist Party, but also the impacts of that on his own character. Overall, the emotions evoked from this quartet consist of fear and misery caused by the circumstances he lived …show more content…
The Communist Party heavily restricted what he could and could not write, he received heavy backlash from the public, he experienced traumatic events when we composed this quartet, and he also had suicidal thoughts during this time as well. All of this comes together nicely to evoke an eerie mood upon the audience. His work is especially important as it clearly displays the effects of society on the production of a work of art. Despite this work being several decades old, his intent is still strongly conveyed by how well he wrote out his