Shostakovich - Symphony No. 8
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- čas přidán 16. 06. 2024
- WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Rudolf Barshai
Symphony No. 8 in C minor (Opus 65) by Dmitri Shostakovich was written in the summer of 1943, and first performed on November 4 of that year by the USSR Symphony Orchestra under Yevgeny Mravinsky, to whom the work is dedicated.
The symphony does not appear on concert programs very often, yet many recent scholars have ranked it among the composer’s finest scores. Although some have argued that the work falls within the tradition of other C minor "tragedy to triumph" symphonies, such as Beethoven's Fifth, Brahms' First, Bruckner's Eighth, and Mahler's Second, there is considerable disagreement over the level of optimism present in the final pages. Shostakovich's friend Isaak Glikman called this symphony "his most tragic work"
The work is only slightly shorter than the composer's monumental Seventh Symphony, and consists of five movements:
0:00 Adagio - Allegro non troppo
27:22 Allegretto
34:03 Allegro non troppo -
40:46 Largo -
50:52 Allegretto - Hudba
I've loved Shostakovich since I was a boy, nearly 70 years ago now. Over 60 years ago I sent him a fan letter. Given my circumstances that was probably an indiscreet thing to do. Shostakovich's reply -- or the envelope in which it came -- created a bit of a sensation in the U S Army base on which I was stationed.
He wrote you back? Wow, that's amazing. Am I sure that must be one of your most treasured possessions.
Why not post it online?
What did he replied to you?
You should really post the letter somewhere. It's not often that a master replies to fan mail.
Ned Hopkins Superb! Thank you for your service!
It may become my favorite of all his symphonies. I intend to keep listening. It doesn't reveal itself completely upon the first listen.
Shostakovich's best symphony - a pearl and a diamond in one
I see the symphony as a reflection on the war in several chapters: individuals facing overwhelming devastation and loss , fighting fires during bombing raids, soldiers facing imminent death amid mortars in a no-mans-land, death, followed by the struggle to pick up the pieces and put the pain of the war behind them.
Very well said and described. The 8th symphony has the unofficial name "Stalingrad Symphony". But it actually meant the person of Stalin and his crimes, which he did not know.
I see in it a God of War, being invoked and presented in different guises. Terrifying, clownish, sinister, painful, dramatic, freezingly cold. After a great catastrophy it seems that he's gone, but when things seem to turn normal, he menacingly shows through the normality in the last outburst. He is not going anywhere, and there's no energy left to oppose, so the music is exhausted and numbly ends, pretending that it's over (but we know that the God of War never left, and will come again, like he came when he was invoked in the beginning).
In my opinion, Shostakovich's 8th has one of the most mystical and delicate finals of his symphonies. Absolutely brilliant!
I trust you also cherish those same qualities in the finale of his 15th symphony
@@BrucknerMotet same in 4th and 13th
And the second cello concerto! This type of finale is a Shostakovich trademark.
The climax of the first movement is of incredible power.
12:44 A hauntingly, terrifyingly powerful return of the second theme of the movement that plays right after the beginning motif. The dissonant, gigantic sound of the brass against the strings that almost sound like a cry of despair, its incredibly moving. And it's only one part of an entire movement filled with genius.
Im always looking for this timestamp. 😂 best part
Very powerful symphony, probably my favorite of his.
I am floored by the amount of emotion packed into a rendition of simple instruments…
I can’t make it thru the first movement without crying
Shostakovich was a rare composer who fought against tyrants by his scintillating symphonies and sent chills down the enemies' spine!
33:55 - is why this is the very best symphony perhaps .?.. of all time .. certainly my favourite Shostakovich one .. sublime moments are of course many .. but personally I think this is Dimitri’s finest moment along with the devastatingly wonderful largo that follows swiftly onward .. Dimitri Shostakovich forever ♾ .. 🕊
Pure genius. Expresses so well those days of horror and tragedy.
+al Khwarismi Isn't it amazing how Shostakovich managed to be such a talented, skillful and even prolific composer considering how oppressive the Soviet state was?
this is a very one-sided view. As a Russian constantly living in Denmark now, I can see from both inside and outside. Many composers in the Russian empire, the USSR and nowadays Russia has devoted their lives to development of the worlds musical culture, there are hundreds of names, indeed. The country which was stronger than facsism was not oppressive, it was oppressed from outside much much more, than inside... Remember, that to live free and to liberate Europe, as well, the USSR lost 27 mln lives . It is Motherland to thousands of gunious people - has been and will always be.
Yes, sacrificed an astounding number of people defeating Hitler, but then sat on the whole of Eastern Europe for the next 40 years. I can understand bringing down the Hungarians, Bulgarian and Romanians that also attacked the USSR, but Stalin did co-invade Poland with Hitler, then took the whole thing in 1945. Plus old Stally had a crack at Finland, then there's Hungary 1956, Prague 1968, Holodomor, and millions in the gulags.
Nelly Kraevskaya that's like saying north Korea is more opressed from the outside... Stalins Russia was a scary ugly place
Al Khwarismi, Your last name comes from Central Asia and has Persian root '' Kha'wrazmi''.?
Meaning ''Eastern defender or warier''.?
Let me know if my vocab analogy was close? thanks.
I do not know why lately I am so tuned to Shostakovitch, specially #8 and 11. I am 68.
Shostakovich is undoubtedly the greatest and best composer of the 20th century! A great artist!
Non esagerare
Uno dei grandi compositori del 900
Likes prokofiev,janacek,britten,Sibelius,Richard Strauss,ives,Debussy,Ravel,hondemith,strawinsky,Berg,Schoenberg,zemlinsky milhaud.
The Adagio makes you speechless. Such a genious use of strings !
The greatest symphony of Shostakovich
1. Adagio - Allegro non troppo
2. Allegreto (27:22)
3. Allegro non troppo (34:04)
4. Largo (40:46)
5. Allegreto (50:52)
With the Allegro non troppo he means the Катюша: multi-rocket launcher.
My admiration is infinite...
A mí me gusta mucho Shostakovich, su música me llega muy adentro, conecté con ella desde mi juventud y ya tengo muchos años... esta sinfonía , en especial, te hace sentir profundamente, todos los valores que aporta la música de este genial compositor. tal vez sea su mejor sinfonía. Me llegan especialmente su primer y cuarto movimientos... No tengo palabras para describirlos! Un saludo desde España. José Luis.
Thank you for comment Jose Luis...Shostakovich is composer the whom I infinitely admirable!A lot of greetings from Serbia!
Such a good recording.. a "must hear" for every Shostakovich enthusiast
My favourite .. it’s just sublime ..
His finest most intense and yes, optimistic symphony! The largo (4th movt) is a canvas of battlefields strewn with dead bodies and just total destruction everywhere. In the final he realises that things can only get better......nothing could ever be as bad as this again......and he leaves us with a glimmer of hope and optimism for the future.
This is a magnificent work!
Agree about all of yous assessment except it's not optimistic! Actually, for me it sounds utterly desolate.
It's astonishing that he captures a panoramic, sweeping view of bodies strewn everywhere with that music. The aftermath of a war or destruction from a meteor; just human carnage everywhere. That music conjures up NOTHING else.
@@AntiWoke_Autistic exactly my feelings listening to the great final movement.
@@AlsoSprach_Zarathustra There is a 'composed glimmer' of optimism but the carnage is not left behind.
A pale February sun over a frozen battlefield strewn with dead and dying bodies
I think that ending is exhaustion and finally, maybe, some rest.
This Symphony Is Masterwork and astonishing.Thanks Shostakovich 🤩🌹
Probably the greatest 20th century symphony ever composed!
Am a bit stunned. Just stumbled over this, had really asked for and just listened to his Piano Quintet, when the 8th came on automatically. I have probably listened to ten different versions and maybe fifty times before. And today I hear it as superior to all other versions. The horror, pain, desperation and disgust with the prerequisite jubilation is even worse here than in the last movement of the fifth. In spite of my great collection of Shostakovich Barshai was new to me. Have relied on Rozhdestvensky as my main favourite. Maybe I have made a new discovery today.
+Lennart Forsman I agree with you, although tastes are tastes. I also find this interpretation astonishing. The "Allegro non troppo and Largo" are usually the movements I consider for benchmarking (just to say, enjoyment must always prevail over comparison when one listens to this music). The Decca Haitink's version is very close and in certain passages even more powerful. The others just lag behind. To convey the soulless "machine of war" is not simple at all...
I came into DSCH symphonies from Bernstein and ended up dumping him in favor of Kondrashin, Haitnik, Rostropovich, Nelsons, Gergiev, some Mravisnky, and I can't wait to discover new favorite recordings.
Generally agree with the others except, I cannot get past the climax of the first mvt by Kondrashin and the Moscow in the mid 60s. Absolutely shattering. Except for that 3 minutes I prefer Mravinsky and the Leningrad in '82. Either total performance though is what got me thru my wife's passing. Absolutely the premier piece written n the 20th century. Barshai's 4th with the WDR is my preferred of that trip into the unknown.
@@jamesoliver6625 the sheer genuineness factor is so omnipresent and dense in this Adagio - Allegro non troppo, I can start to understand how patient hearing of this recording can invite the individual to crack open the shell of his own grief to sympathize with the plight of everyone and all.
Many conductors approach DSCH, but not all are up to the task. Rozhdestvenksy, Barshai, and Mravinsky are exceptionally talented in this regard and their efforts are top notch, but don't think of them as some sort of eternally dominating triumvirate, destined to hold fast through eternity to the finest recordings. Try Haitink's treatment of the 15th and you won't be disappointed.
czcams.com/video/N0iZGMXpquQ/video.html&ab_channel=Cantus5
Brilliant!!!!
A marsterpiece and a work of art.
One of Underrated masters.
The CD-cover art is of top quality. No commercial crap.
The picture even looks like it depicts a war refugee family huddled together with their modest cart carrying their sole remaining worldly possessions to some unknown destination with absolutely no hint of how likely the entire group and its cargo will arrive there.
Oh God♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I've heard countless times...so tragic,so pain...sublime!!
MARAVILLOSO MUSICO UN HEROE COMO INTERPRETO LA TRAGEDIA EN SU PAIS ES CONMOVEDOR
This is the best interpretation I have heard from this Sinphony. I also like the one conducted by Mavrinsky.
Mravinsky's treatment of this score was spot on, as the English say. A bullseye, in darts terminology.
My favorite symphony of favorite composer.!Brilliant performans,my adored part is Allegro non tropo,phenomenal!And Adagio...ADAGIO...Adagio...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Adagio!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
shostakovich is not just a genius of music, is an absolute genius of the transcendental spirit and the real essencial russian spirit, as pouchkine and dostoievsky are or serguei esenstein
Just imagine allegro non troppo sounding for days in your head! That's what happened to me ...
This is my favourite too. Goosebumps as I type...
Spectacular!
Uma interpretação algo linear mas brilhante. Como Andrew Lankford, considero uma reflexão profunda sobre a guerra, a terrível neurose coletiva que encontrou um dos seus ápices no século XX. Aliás, Shostakovich foi o compositor mais fiel ao seu tempo, genial mesmo, o que muitos ainda não entenderam.
The execution of the climactic moment around 14:00 is insanely good
Check out Kondrashin's with the Moscow from the 60s.
Dmitri Shostakovich: the musical personification of "catharsis". Rewarding music, but holy shit: draining.
When I hear this I don't like to think about war, but instead it conjures up imagery of a mysterious and alien world filled with mystery and foreboding.
Same! I choose to hear the whimsy and fantasy in this, not the horrors of war. In fact, I think most people hearing this for the first time and not knowing anything about it would interpret it emotionally neutral, if not positive.
@Malvin Risan Thank you, Malvin. I often listen to Shostakovich when I draw my cartoons. I consider him a hero.
the soul charged of the most big human tragedy... the war against the human being.... against the life... very sadness...
Etendu dans un lit en 1950, j'ai souvent écouté cette symphonie enregistrée par Fernand Kinet au Conservatoire de Liège sur un Sonofil. Les mélodies de l'allegro final, inspirées d'espoir, me sont restées en mémoire pendant sept décennies; grace aux prodiges de ma mémoire, je les retrouvent avec émotion. Grande symphonie classique.
With Shostakovich's symphonies, usually the final movement isn't as strong as the first three. This one is the exception.
Cette symphonie composée en 1943, en pleine guerre contre l'Allemagne nazie, se situe dans la tradition des symphonies en ut mineur « de la tragédie au triomphe » entamée avec la Cinquième de Beethoven et poursuivie avec la Huitième de Bruckner et la Seconde de Mahler. Cette symphonie est sans doute l'« œuvre la plus tragique » de Chostakovitch et peut-être même de l'ensemble des compositeurs.
Allegro non Troppo still the best part by far (love all of his work, this one is just exceptional)
La plus terrible des symphonies. La plus noire des symphonies de Shostakovitch. Mais la fin est merveilleusement sereine.
I have to agree that there is no real "tragedy to triumph" in this symphony. It goes only up to a certain point in the last movement, namely when the war theme of the first movement makes a renewed, unexpected appearance and after which everything subsides and the symphony is brought to that very quiet, subdued conclusion.
and how could there be tragedy to triumph in any piece of music about Stalingrad? an event so awful and inhuman that one can only be thankful it is over. And even then, it was not truly over - after came Kursk, and Rzhev, and Seelow Heights and meatgrinder after meatgrinder.
A very fine performance and recording. I would however, recommend that fans of his works seek out the recordings by the Moscow Phil., conducted by Kirill Kondrashin. Amazing ( and my favourite ) recordings of his symphonies.
Какой талант! Интересно в этом веке будут подобные таланты?
Надежда Зимина, уже прошло почти четверть века, пока - тихо!!! А, всё что мы видим и слышим сейчас, совсем не то, разве что - Ю.Темирканов (хотя он с прошлого века) и Марис Янсонс - заслуживают уважения. Да, ещё Д.Баренбойм -- особенно симфонии Бетховена под его управлением.
@@user-wu9cu8ep8m пока только 1/5 века
I first came across Shostakovich as a teenager in the 1980s. Having come off of composers such as Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky; and having yet to hear anything by composers such as Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Hindemith, at the time I thought that Shostakovich was "Modern". Actually, his compositions are traditional compared to others of his generation. All-in-all, I'd say that Shostakovich is the finest composer of symphonies born during the 20th century. Politics aside, Shostakovich is very intense; to my ears, almost a continuation of Mahler in that he tended to compose very large symphonies with each bringing forth a whole world of ideas.
We in Hollywood owe A HELL OF A LOT to Russian composers. Shostakovich in my opinion is the royal grandfather of all motion picture soundtrack composers. He and his original sound started it ALL.
Hollywood is a cancer in my opinion. I would not wish to associate this in any way with classical music.
Says the guy with a Hollywood director's profile name.
It's amazing how much 20th century music has influenced Hollywood scores. I remember seeing Hans Zimmer breaking down his leitmotif for the joker in The Dark Knight, and thinking to myself, "Isn't this the same string technique used in 'Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima'?"
Rachmaninoff
@@peterj2518 Would you write off anything by Korngold or Bernard Herrmann because of the purpose for which it was written?
Masterpiece
disturbingly tragic
Has anyone heard the 1989 Leonard Slatkin and St. Louis Symphony recording? That's my go-to recording. I welcome comments from those who have heard some of the others.
Eine sehr gute Aufnahme und im meiner Meinung nach richtigen Tempo gespielt.
That's some hard cor anglais
Reminds me so much of the 5th Symphony.
The first movement at least. The second has some of the same spirit of the second movement in the 5th, but the last two movements are very different.
Who is the conductor and orchestra on this recording? Magnificent!
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
and conducted by Rudolf Barshai. It's in the description.
The second movement reminds me of his prelude and fugue in D flat major
Haha. Same key!
35:56 bass trombone excerpt
This, now
Universum of pain!
Cette 8e symphonie aurait pu s'appeler Stalingrad, comme la 7e Symphonie s'appelle Leningrad (1942). L'atmosphère cataclysmique de cette symphonie évoque en effet la terrible et sanglante bataille de Stalingrad (1943).
14:10 Inno d'Italia 🇮🇹 (Mameli-Novaro)
🌸🌸🌸
؟
45:41 Do I hear a bit of the finale of Mahlers 3rd?
My favorite parts are at 47:35 and 34:00
Does 17:18-18:33 remind anyone of The Day of Lavos from Chrono Trigger?
Good ear. Yasunori Mitsuda based it on this.
Симфонизм Д.Д Шостаковича.
Звучание скрипок возводят чувственность человека в высшую стадию.Трагизм и суть войны объяснено композитором в музыке симфоний.
Одна из них - Восьмая симфония, написанная в 1943 году, в разгар ВОВ. И эту мысль автора мы понимаем прекрасно. Почему же на сегодняшний день продолжаются эти безумства человечества?!
Риторический вопрос. Что касается самой музыки, то я, например, ни в восьмой, ни в пятой симфониях не вижу социального или политического подтекста. Когда слушаю, представляю в воображении или любуюсь суровыми пейзажами, например: mir-s3-cdn-cf.behance.net/project_modules/fs/bc1ebf24514641.563357bd48750.jpg
pro-dachnikov.com/uploads/posts/2021-10/1633778859_104-p-domik-v-derevne-zimoi-foto-114.jpg
finale sounds like post-traumatic dementia
39:20
6:34 (just marking where I’m leaving off don’t mind me haha)
4:40
Piccolo: 29:10 46:10
Чудовищная трагедия и гениальный Шостакович.
Сергей, Вы имеете ввиду войну или, жизнь Шостаковича вообще?
Война была чудовищной трагедией. Жизнь Дмитрия Дмитриевича была прекрасным подарком его семье, друзьям и всем нам
34:04
jesus christ up there with rachmaninov
Beats Rachmaninov into a cocked hat, if you ask me.
lol what
Auch wenn die Symphonie eigentlich mit Stalingrad nichts zu tun hat, drückt sie trotzdem die Stimmung dort gut aus...
最初の1音であの人かどうか分かる
The fourth movement perfectly describes the whole COVID-19 tragedy, with over 300K Americans and hundreds of thousands of others dead, plus all the hospitalized, lingering sickness, plus the devastation of the U.S. economay, destroyed businesses, other fallouts ... and then at the end of the movement it kind of sounds a bit uplifting, and that sympbolizes the vaccine!
I totally agree with your comment about the end sounding a bit uplifting. I commented here nearly 3 years ago that, for me,after all the death destruction and devastation he sounds slightly optimistic. As though things cannot or should not get this bad again.IMPO this is his finest symphony.
Does anybody know that Shostakovich what's reportedly ordered by Stalin, under threat of being shot in the head, to write the symphony? The story goes on to say that Shostakovich remained bitter for the rest of his life over this command composition.
Work on your history dude. By the time of the 8th Stalin, who was no idiot and politically astute totalitarian madman, knew he couldn't continue as had in the 30s. DS knew that he could write a personal symphony with the 8th, thumb his nose at Stalin with the 9th, and then eviscerate him with the 10th after Stalin's death.
After hearing the 4th symphony Stalin banned it and "lost his cool" with both Shostakovich and Prokofiev amongst others. One cannot imagine what these great creative artists had to live through.
russiands had 90 thoudands pows with no transportation available and no additional food
Sibelius Finlandia!
Where and How?
a noble non-sequitur. No one will dispute the power of Sibelius. No one.
The soviets did a marvellous job by rejecting the nazi-invasion and winning the war. Without that, it is posible that we would not have China, Vietnam, Laos, Cuba and North-Korea left either, just global capitalism. The russian contribution for marxism has been huge. I don`t know if Shostakovich was thinking about this while writing process, but it is the historical truth.
Some would disagree, living under soviet regime in 70s and 80s in Poland or east Germany was a nightmare, democracy (which is somewhat ignored by the current Polish government,sad) and capitalism we get since 90s is a true form of freedom. I like Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky and many more Russian composers, but music should be free of politics or ideology
Shostakovich was not friend of capitalism. Like a humanist he saw on his travels negative aspects of western consumerism, for instance in Paris and New York. He also criticized western music that sounded him cynical and careless. The original marxism is also very humanistic because it is based on the noble principle of equality.
Today global capitalism is enormously destructive and indifferent for the environment and, for instance in US three persons owns more wealth than the bottom 50%, that is absurdly biased concept of freedom.
@@texwiller4029 never ask what happened to the aral sea to a USSR apologist who derides capitalism for "environmental destruction"
From Wikipedia's article (French):
En 1943, Chostakovitch compose l'une de ses plus importantes symphonies, la Symphonie no 8 (rarement et improprement sous-titrée Stalingrad ; cet hommage n'est pas de Chostakovitch lui-même), dédiée à Mravinski. Considérée par beaucoup comme le chef-d'œuvre symphonique de Chostakovitch, cette symphonie est semblable à un cri de protestation contre la guerre, le totalitarisme et la volonté de suprématie en général. L'œuvre a été bannie officieusement jusqu'en 1956.
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Chostakovitch?wprov=sfla1
32:15
37:43