Dmitri Shostakovich

Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 in D minor

The most famous, most debated finale

Key: D minor
Composed: 1937
Premiere: 1937 Leningrad
Duration: about 45 min
Movements: 4 movements
Instrumentation: Woodwinds 2·2·2·2 (+ piccolo, E♭ clarinet, contrabassoon) · Brass 4·3·3·1 · Timpani · Percussion (snare drum, triangle, cymbals, bass drum, tam-tam, glockenspiel, xylophone) · 2 harps · Keyboard (piano, celesta) · Strings

The story behind this piece

After Pravda's attack in 1936, Shostakovich overnight found himself in a dangerous position. He even withdrew the Symphony No. 4 he had been preparing. Then he wrote Symphony No. 5 from April to July 1937.

The premiere, held in Leningrad on November 21, 1937 under Mravinsky, received an enormous ovation, and Shostakovich was accepted again. The phrase often used as the piece's subtitle, "a Soviet artist's creative response to just criticism," originally came from a review, and Shostakovich presented the work in the spirit of accepting it.

The problem is the finale. Officially the piece ended in "optimism and joy of life," but the memoir Testimony, published by Solomon Volkov in 1979, quotes him saying that joy was "forced joy." However, Testimony is a book whose authenticity as Shostakovich's real words is heavily disputed, so this reading is not settled either. Whether it is triumph or satire is left for the listener to decide.

What to listen for

Third movement, Largo: This is the emotional center of the piece.
Fourth movement, finale: Think about whether you hear the thunderous major-key ending as "real triumph" or "forced jubilation."

Listen · Score

Hear the full piece on YouTube · hr-Sinfonieorchester · David Afkham

Credits