Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich)

Structure#

The work has four movements (the last two being played without interruption) and is approximately half an hour in length. The work begins with an introductory Allegretto section, which is developed from a duet between solo trumpet and bassoon. This leads into the first subject proper, a lively march-like Allegro reminiscent of the vaudeville and theatre music Shostakovich would have encountered during his time as a cinema pianist. The second subject is ostensibly a waltz, with the flute melody finding its way around several sections of the orchestra. The development section features a return to mock-comic grotesqueries, although the sonata-form structure of this movement is entirely conventional. In the second movement we are presented with a ‘false start’ in the cellos and basses before a frantic scherzo begins with the clarinet. The piano features for the first time with rapid scalic runs before a more sombre mood develops in the Meno mosso section. Here Shostakovich writes a triple-time passage in two, with melodies being passed through the flutes, clarinets, strings, oboes, piccolos, and the clarinets again, while the strings and triangle play in the background. The bassoon brings us back to the Allegro of the opening. The climax occurs with a combination of the two melodies presented earlier in the movement followed by a coda which is announced by widely spaced chords from the piano and violin harmonics. The third movement begins with a dark oboe solo transferring to a cello solo, and proceeds to develop into a crescendo. There is a drum roll attacca from the third movement into the fourth. After another sombre passage, the music suddenly enters the Allegro molto section with a very fast melody on the clarinet and strings. This reaches a furious climax, after which calm descends. The following Allegro section culminates in a fortissimo timpani solo, a rhythmic motif which featured in the third movement. A passage for solo cello and muted strings cleverly uses this motif along with several other elements, leading into a coda section which ends the work with rousing fanfare-like figures from the brass.

Instrumentation#

The work is written for: ;Woodwinds: :piccolo (doubling 3rd flute) :2 flutes (with 2nd doubling 2nd piccolo) :2 oboes :2 clarinets :2 bassoons ;Brass: :4 horns :2 trumpets :alto trumpet :3 trombones :tuba ;Percussion: :timpani :bass drum :snare drum :tam-tam :cymbals :triangle :glockenspiel ;Keyboard :piano ;Strings: :1st violins :2nd violins :violas :cellos :double basses

Influences#

Because of the traditionalist mindset of the Conservatory, Shostakovich did not discover the music of Igor Stravinsky until his late teens. The effect of hearing this music was instant and radical, with Stravinsky’s compositions continuing to hold a considerable influence over Shostakovich. Some critics have suggested the First Symphony was influenced by Stravinsky’s Petrushka, not just due to the prominence of the piano part in its orchestration but also due to the overall tone of satire in the first half of the symphony. Because the plot in Stravinsky’s ballet chronicled the doomed antics of an animated puppet, it would have reflected his observations on the mechanical aspects of human behaviour and appealed directly to the satirist in him. Still another musical influence, suggested by the opening clarinet phrase which recurs often throughout the symphony, is Richard Strauss’s tone poem Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks.

Sources#

• Layton, Robert, ed. Robert Simpson, The Symphony, Volume Two: Mahler to the Present Day (New York: Drake Publishers Inc., 1972).
• MacDonald, Ian, The New Shostakovich (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1990). .
• Steinberg, Michael, The Symphony (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1995). .
• Volkov, Solomon, tr. Bouis, Antonina W., Saint Petersburg: A Cultural History (New York: Harper & Row, 1979). .

External links#

• • Full orchestral score from the New York Philharmonic’s archives