Shostakovich Symphonies and Concertos - An Owner's Manual: Unlocking the Masters Series
by David Hurwitz
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Book Summary Information
Author: David HurwitzBrand: Amadeus Press
Composer: Dmitri Shostakovich
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-05-01
ISBN: 1574671316
Number of pages: 217
Publisher: Amadeus Press
Product features:
- Published by Amadeus Press 224 Pages
- Unlocking the Masters Series by David Hurwitz Unlocking the Masters Series, No. 9 Book with
- Composer: Dmitri Shostakovich Author: David Hurwitz
Book Reviews of Shostakovich Symphonies and Concertos - An Owner's Manual: Unlocking the Masters Series
Book Review: Great Book For Anyone Who Is Looking For The Key To Shostakovich's Orchestral Canon
Summary: 5 Stars
This book offers analysis. It is an overview like a strategic war map of Europe during World War II. Some of the details will get lost as Mr. Hurwitz tries to describe in the most basic of terms what the music of Shostakovich's Symphonies and Concertos are to the musical novice. To be honest you have to have gotten at least a "C" in classical music appreciation and a class in Sonata Form would help. Fortunately I have had both and so I can make sense of Mr. Hurwitz writes.
One critic of this book feels that he is being talked down to. Well I feel just the opposite in grasping the ideas laid out in this book. All fifteen symphonies of Shostakovich and all six of his concertos are laid out for examination. Mr. Hurwitz comes to conclusion in this book for instance that the Shostakovich 4th symphony first movement which was thought to be nonsense just decades ago is an inverted Sonata Form movement. He also concludes in the book and I guess I am spoiling it by saying that in all twenty-one works Shostakovich never used the same patterns of music twice! Indeed this book makes you admire Shostakovich all the more if you don't already know him.
I should warn you that the book alone will not teach you about Shostakovich's music. But if you have his music and read what Hurwitz has written it makes a lot of sense especially to the novice or those with little education in music. This book might seem redundant to you if you already know Shostakovich's music and can analyze it for yourself. Personally it has clarified what I already have known and made me appreciate Shostakovich even more.
If you are collecting books about Shostakovich I would consider this one to be the third behind a good biography and the Hulme Catalog of his works.
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Summary of Shostakovich Symphonies and Concertos - An Owner's Manual: Unlocking the Masters Series
The fall of the Soviet empire has not diminished the popularity of Dmitri Shostakovich's great symphonies and concertos one bit, despite the fact that most literature on him neglects any substantive discussion of the music itself in favor of biographical speculation on the relationship between the composer and the political climate of the day. This is the first book to provide a detailed, descriptive analysis of the 21 symphonies and concertos, work by work, explaining not just why they are significant documents of their time and place, but why they are great music in general. This offers readers an understanding of why Shostakovich's music enjoys the enduring support of performers and listeners alike, and how it fits into the great tradition of Western classical music generally.Theater Books
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