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[violachic]

If I were a Dead Russian Composer, I would be Dmitri Shostakovich! I am a shy, nervous, unassuming, fidgety, and stuttery little person who began composing the same year I started music lessons of any sort. I wrote the first of my fifteen symphonies at age 18, and my second opera, "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District," when I was only 26. Unfortunately, Stalin hated the opera, and put me on the Enemy Of The People List for life. I nevertheless kept composing the works I wanted to write in private; some of my vocal cycles and 15 string quartets mock the Soviet System in notes. And I somehow was NOT killed in the process! And Harry Potter(c) stole my glasses and broke them! Who would you be? Dead Russian Composer Personality Test

Comments

[orpheus42.livejournal.com]

Between you and me, we got my two favorites (though I like a lot of them).

LOL at "emo Harry Potter".

[violachic.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm a big fan of pretty much the whole "radical romantic" set, Russian or no. I did have a cat once, who now lives with my sister and her husband, who I named after Rachmaninoff. Shostakovich was so damned subversive, though. He is one of the few composers ever to write a whole sarcastic symphony.

[orpheus42.livejournal.com]

And he didn't get killed for it. Which is amazing. And it's a great piece. A lot of people I know really like it, but they don't get it. It's even better when you hear it with the composer's own quotes in mind, such as:

"It is as if someone is beating you with a stick and telling you 'You're celebrating!' over and over again. Eventually, you walk away muttering 'Yes, I'm celebrating.'"

Emo Harry Potter or not, the guy had some serious cojones.

[violachic.livejournal.com]

In fact, that's exactly what playing the last ten minutes of the symphony is like.... the violas play this tremolo "A" for about a zillion measures, at like fffff.....

[orpheus42.livejournal.com]

It echoes in the upper woodwinds. I've never played it with an orchestra but I read excerpts of the clarinet parts once for an audition.

It's so wild. After hearing that statement for the first time, the next time I heard the piece I felt physical pain as if someone were beating me. I have an overactive imagination.

[violachic.livejournal.com]

Nah, you're just communicating with the music :-) Besides, I know plenty of people who claim Shostakovich causes them physical pain ;-)



You know, if this comment thread goes on long enough, I could actually stand a chance of using each of my user icons at least once....

[orpheus42.livejournal.com]

Playing Shostakovich, or listening?

Hmm... that sounds like a worthy goal.

[violachic.livejournal.com]

Either :-P


I have 45 icons....

[orpheus42.livejournal.com]

Might take awhile, then.

I'm thinking it might be feasible for me to try to go on a CPT delegation in 2009.

[violachic.livejournal.com]

You totally should. I'll even probably be back on speaking terms with them by then.

Man, I want to go to Colombia so bad!

[orpheus42.livejournal.com]

Colombia would be a good place to go. I want to go to Palestine, though I want to go everywhere else too.

[violachic.livejournal.com]

When you're there, see if you can locate the piece of my soul I left there, will ya?

[orpheus42.livejournal.com]

If I see it wandering around I'll tell you.

[violachic.livejournal.com]

Prokofiev did too- funnily enough, they're both the 5th....