From: richard@bofh.its.rmit.EDU.AU (Richard A. Muirden) Newsgroups: alt.fan.shostakovich,rec.music.classical Subject: alt.fan.shostakovich FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Date: 30 Nov 1997 23:54:40 GMT Organization: Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. NNTP-Posting-Host: bofh.its.rmit.edu.au FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions): alt.fan.shostakovich ------------------------------------------------------ Compiled by: Richard A. Muirden (email: richard@rmit.EDU.AU) Last Updated: August 18, 1997 Contents: -------- 1. General Information (including what DSCH means & newsgroup history) 2. Recommendations for Newcomers to Shostakovich 3. Major Works and Recommended Recordings 4. "Testimony" - The Story (& Film tidbits) 5. Shostakovich's music in Films and TV 6. Books of interest to Shostakovich Fans 7. "The DSCH Journal" - A newsletter! 8. DSCH Reference on the World Wide Web (WWW) 9. The "DSCH Smiley" 10. Information on The 'Fonds Chostakovitch' in Paris 11. First the music, then the books and film, and now.. the boat! 12. Contributors to this FAQ 1. General Information (including what DSCH means & newsgroup history) ====================================================================== DMITRI DMITRIEVICH SHOSTAKOVICH Born: 25th September, 1906 in St. Petersburg (5PM local time) Parents: Dimitri Boleslawowitsch Shostakovich Sofia Vasilievna Shostakovich (formerly Kokoulin). Died: 9th August, 1975 in Moscow (at 7PM according to newspaper reports) Wives: Nina Vasilievna (Varzar) (from 1934 until she died on December 5th, 1954) * There was a temporary divorce during the summer of 1934. (both parties had affairs, but couldn't keep apart from each other) Margarita (Kainova) (1956-1960 - he proposed to her on the spot - it was a failed marriage - he left her in November 1960) Irina Antonova (Supinskaya) (December 1962) (much younger but terribly caring and devoted to caring for the sick composer) All Children came during the marriage to Nina. Son: Maxim Shostakovich, born in 1937, currently lives in the USA and works as a conductor of many orchestras worldwide. Maxim's son, Dmitri jnr is also a recorded pianist and can be heard performing Dmitri snr's 2 piano concertos under the baton of his father on 2 Chandos CD's (CHAN 8357/8443) Daughter: Galya -apparently she is still living in Moscow and has two children. Maxim keeps in contact. Two children: Andrei and Kolya(Nikolai). Kolya is the youngest, and should be around 30-33 years old now. Kolya is married and has a daughter. They live in Moscow. Apparently Andrei might have been in the US at some stage. Aparently Galya was never a pianist or had any formal training. Galya graduated from Moscow University - Field: Biology and she worked at the Sclifasofsky Hospital. Galya was spotted in St. Petersburg on September 25, 1996 as part of the 90th anniversary celebrations. Alas your humble FAQ author did not have the Russian skills to ask her what she was doing these days. Galya is the head of the Shostakovich Foundation along with DSCH's last wife, Irina. DSCH: DSCH is a short form that many posters use for Shostakovich's name. This comes from his own use of these notes (in German Notation) to mean his own name. The most spectacular (and first major) use of the DSCH motif is in the 10th Symphony. In case you want to play it, it is: D Eb C B However, the 8th String Quartet shows the "DSCH progression" much more vividly. The first movement alone being a fine example of the motif. Prizes and honours awarded: 1940: Order of the Red Banner of Labour. 1942: Honoured Artist of the RSFSR. 1946: Order of Lenin 1948: People's Artist of the RSFSR. 1954: People's Artist of the USSR. International Peace Prize. 1956: Order of Lenin 1958: International Jean Sibelius Prize 1959: Silver Medal, World Peace Council 1962-75: Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. 1965: Honoury Doctorate in Music 1966: Order of Lenin Hero of Socialist Labour Gold Medal of the British Royal Philharmonic Society 1967: Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria 1969: Mozart Memoial Medal of the Mozart Society, Vienna 1971: Order of the October Revolution 1972: 'Great Star of the Friendship Among Peoples' in gold 1973: The Sonning Prize, Denmark Stalin Prizes: 11 First Grade for Scores for film trilogy (Maxim's Youth, Maxim's Return & The Vyborg Side - Opp.41,45,50) in 1941. First Grade for Score of "The Great Citizen" in 1941. First Grade for Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad" in 1942. First Grade for Score of "Zoya" in 1946. Second Grade for Piano Trio (Op.67) in 1946. Second Grade for Score of the film "Pirogov" in 1948. First Grade for Score of film "The Young Guards" in 1949. Second Grade for Score of film "Minchurin" in 1949. First Grade for Score of film "Meeting at Elba" in 1950. First Grade for Song of the Forests (Op.81) in 1949. Second Grade for Ten Choral Poems by Revolutionary Poets (Op.88) in 1952 The newsgroup alt.fan.shostakovich was created in 1990, first as a joke group to make a point to a local news system administrator, but when serious postings were posted to the group, it was kept on, and somehow found it's way to official USENET acceptance as a proper alt newsgroup. Thus the newsgroup is dedicated to the understanding of, apprieciation for and discussion related to the life, times and music of Dmitri Shostakovich. 2. Recomendations for Newcomers to Shostakovich =============================================== Many new posters to alt.fan.shostakovich mention they have heard a piece or two of DSCH and would like to hear more and what are some good pieces to start with. I feel the best way to get into Shostakovich is slowly, and to this end I have decided to list a few works and recordings that I feel would be a good introduction to the works of Shostakovich. The recordings chosen are in the mid-price bracket because I believe that when you are 'getting into' a composer (ie: exploring) you're more likely to want to spend your money on a few good mid price recordings rather than unknown full price ones - that way you lose less money if you really can't stand what you've bought. It has been pointed out that the selection here is very subjective. What I have tried to do is sift through the various responses in the past on a.f.s in answer to the question of 'what can I listen to next?' and cobble together what I hope to be a general consensus of works. Symphonies: Numbers 1,5,7,8,9,10,11,12 (Haitink Recordings on Decca) String Quartets: Numbers 3,8,9,10 (Borodin Quartet on EMI) Piano Concertos+Cello Concerto: (Previn/Rostropovich on Sony MPK 44850) There is also the excellent (and mid-price) "Composers in Person" CD on EMI containing Shostakovich playing both Piano Concertos, 3 Fantastic Dances (Op. 5), and a selection of the Preludes and Fuges, Op. 87 all on one CD. Good sound and good mixture. (EMI CDC 7 54606 2) A CD for the more adventurous: "The Shostakovich CD" on Olympia (OCD 008) - if you can get it (I ordered mine direct from Olympia) contains 'samples' from just about every part of Shostakovich's output (with the notable exception of chamber music, unless you include the 14th Symphony extract). A bargain disk at around 5 pounds in the UK (So I am told). 3. Major Works and Recommended Recordings ======================================== This section of 'recommended recordings' of Shostakovich's major works is only a 'guide' - This list compiles together the recommendations of alt.fan.shostakovich readers as posted. Your view may differ - The like or dislike of a performance is a subjective quality - however these recommendations also reflect feelings of critics in general and the readership of alt.fan.shostakovich in general. Performances are not listed in any particular order. Note that some recordings may not be available in your area, or may no longer be available. While every effort is made to keep this list as up to date as possible, some recordings may be deleted from current catalogues, or only be released in some areas. However secondhand shops may be a good source of some recordings if you cannot find them locallly. Also, on-line providers such as Compact Disc Connection (www.cdconnection.com) and CDNow (www.cdnow.com) may be of help. Symphonies: ---------- #1 : Scottish National Orchestra/Jarvi [w/ #6] [DDD] (Chandos CHAN 8411) LPO/Haitink [w/ #3] [DDD] (Decca 425 063-2) OSM/Dutoit [w/ #15] [DDD] (Decca 436 828-2) (#2 and #3 are widely considered to be politicially motivated works and also very unlike the 'normal' DSCH. It is rumoured that he made his son Maxim promise to never conduct these works, However, recordings by both Haitink on Decca/London and Rozhdestvensky (Olympia) are available. Low price versions can be found on the Naxos label with not too bad recordings). #4 : Scottish National Orchestra/Jarvi [DDD] (Chandos 8640) LPO/Haitink [ADD] (Decca 425 065-2) Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra/Slatkin [DDD] (RCA Red Seal RD 60887) City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Rattle [DDD] (EMI 7243 5 55476 2) Philadelpha Orchestra/Ormandy [w/ #10] [ADD] (Sony Essential Classics DB2K62 409) #5 : Scottish National Orchestra/Jarvi [w/ 'the bolt'] [DDD] (Chandos 8650) Concertgebouw/Haitink [w/ #9] [DDD] (Decca 425 066-2) USSR Ministry of Culture SO/Rozhdestvensky [w/ #9] [DDD] (Olympia OCD 113) Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra/Mravinsky [DDD] (Erato 2292-45752-2) NYPO/Bernstein [w/ #9] [ADD] (Sony SMK 47615) #6 : Scottish National Orchestra/Jarvi [w/ #1] [DDD] (Chandos CHAN 8411) Concertgebouw/Haitink [w/ #12] [DDD] (Decca 425 067-2) Concertgebouw/Kondrashin [ADD] (Philips 438 283-2) Oslo PO/Jansons [w/ #9] [DDD] (EMI 7543392) #7 : Scottish National Orchestra/Jarvi [DDD] (Chandos CHAN 8623) LPO/Haitink [DDD] (Decca 425 068-2) Czech PO/Ancerl [AAD] (Supraphon 111952-2) Chicago SO/Bernstein [w/ #1] [DDD/Live] (DG 426 632-2) #8 : Scottish National Orchestra/Jarvi [DDD] (Chandos CHAN 8757) Concertgebouw/Haitink [DDD] (Decca 425 071-2) Leningrad Phulharmonic Orchestra/Mravinsky [ADD] (Philips 422 442-2) Berlin PO/Bychkov [DDD] (Philips 432 090-2) #9 : Scottish National Orchestra/Jarvi [w/ Festive Ov] [DDD] (Chandos CHAN 8587) LPO/Haitink [w/ #5] [DDD] (Decca 425 066-2) USSR Ministry of Culture SO/Rozhdestvensky [w/ #5] [DDD] (Olympia OCB 113) Concertgebouw/Kondrashin [ADD] (Philips 438 284-2) Oslo PO/Jansons [w/ #9] [DDD] (EMI 7543392) #10: Scottish National Orchestra/Jarvi [DDD] (Chandos CHAN 8630) Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra/Mravinsky [ADD] (Erato 2292-45753-2) USSR Ministry of Culture SO/Rozhdestvensky [DDD] (Olympia OCD 131) Berlin PO/Karajan [DDD] (DG 413 361-2) Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra/Mravinsky [AAD] (Saga SCD 9017) *1954 Premiere recording* Philadelpha Orchestra/Ormandy [w/ #4] [ADD] (Sony Essential Classics DB2K62 409 #11: Houston SO/Stokowski [ADD] (EMI CDM 7243 5 65206 2) Helsinki PO/DePreist [DDD] (Delos D/CD 3080) Concertgebouw/Haitink [DDD] (Decca 425 072-2) Berlin PO/Bychkov [DDD] (Philips 420 935-2) National SO/Rostropovich [DDD] (Teldec 76262-2) * said to be deleted Russian State SO/Polyansky [DDD] (Chandos CHAN 9476) #12: Gothenburg SO/Jarvi [w/ Hamlet Op.32+Age of Gold] [DDD] (DG 431 688-2) Gewandhausorchester Leipzig/Durjan [ADD] (Philips 434 172-2) Concertgebouw/Haitink [DDD] (Decca 425 067-2) Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra/Mravinsky [DDD] (Erato 2292-45754-2) #13: Concertgebouw/Haitink [DDD] (Decca 425 073-2) CBSO/Kamu [DDD] (Chandos CHAN 8540) Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra/Kondrashin [ADD] (Russian Disc RD CD 11 191) #14: Gothenburg SO/Jarvi [DDD] (DG 437 785-2) Concergebouw/Haitink [DDD] (Decca 425 074-2) [this recording uses the original texts to the poems, not in russian] Moscow Phil Ens/Rostropovich [ADD] (Melodiya SUCD 10-00241) Czecho-Slovak Radio SO/Slovak [DDD] (Naxos 8.550631) #15: LPO/Haitink [ADD] (Decca 425 069-2) OSM/Dutoit [w/ #1] [DDD] (Decca 436 828-2) Concertos: --------- Piano Concertos 1 & 2: Shostakovich (p)/Orchestre National de la Radiodifusion Francoise/Cluytens [ADD] (EMI CDC 7 54606 2) or Alexeev (p)/ECO/Maksymiuk [DDD] (EMI CFP CD-CFP 4547) or Previn(p)/NYPO/Bernstein [ADD] (Sony MPK 44850) there is also the Kissin recording with the Moscow Virtuosi/Spivakov [DDD] on (RCA Red Seal RD87947) Violin Concertos 1 & 2: Mordkovitch (v)/Scottish National Orchestra/Jarvi [DDD] (Chandos CHAN 8820) or Oistrakh (v)/Various [ADD/live] (Intaglio INCD 7241) Cello Concerto No. 1: Rostropovich (Cl)/Philadelphia/Ormandy [ADD] [w/ The piano concertos) (Sony MPK 44850) or Yo-Yo Ma (Cl)/Philadelphia/Ormandy [DDD] [w/ Symphony #5/Bernstein] (Sony MDK 44903) Cello Concerto No. 2: Rostropovich (Cl)/Boston SO/Ozawa [ADD] (DG 431 475-2) String Quartets: --------------- #1-15: Borodin Quartet on EMI [ADD] Brodsky Quartet on Teldec [DDD] Fitzwilliam Quartet on Decca [DDD] Eder Quartet on Naxos [DDD] (* Budget Price *) The Borodin Quartet are recording a new series on the Virgin Label with approx. 3 CD's released so far. The Borodin Quartet cycle is now available on on Melodiya/BMG 74321-40711-2 as the EMI version is sadly no longer currently available (unless you are lucky!) Preludes and Fuges, Op. 87: -------------------------- Nikolayeva on Hyperion Keith Jarrett on ECM New Series Other 'chamber' works: --------------------- Piano Quintet. Op.57: Richter, Piano w/ Borodin String Quartet [ADD] (EMI CDC 7 47507 2) (comes with 7th and 8th String Quartets) or in a recording coupled with the Trio No. 2, Op.67: Beaux Arts Trio [DDD] (Philips 432 079-2) Film Music: ---------- Suite from "The Gadfly" - USSR Cinema SO/Emin Khachuturian [ADD] (EMI CFP CD-CFP 4463) Suites from "Minchurin", "Fall of Berlin" & "Golden Mountains" - Belgian Radio SO/Serbrier [ADD] (RCA Red Seal 60226-2 RC) Suites from "The New Babylon"(first film score) & "Five Days - Five Nights" - Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra/Judd [DDD] (Capricco 10 341/42) Full film score to "King Lear" - Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra/Jurowski [DDD] (Capricco 10 397) Suite from "Zoya" & "The Fall of Berlin" - Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra/Jurowski [DDD] (Capricco 10 405) Suite from "Golden Mountains", "Return of Maxim" & Prologue from "Youth of Maxim", Overture to "The Vyborg District" Op.50. - Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra/Jurowski [DDD] (Capricco 10 561) Other Works: ----------- Jazz Suites 1 & 2: Concertgebouw/Chailly [DDD] (Decca 433 702-2) (for #1 see Olympia OCD 156 for recording by Rozhdestvensky) Ballet Suites 1,2,3: Scottish National Orchestra/Jarvi [DDD] (Chandos CHAN 8730) Funeral and Triumphal Prelude, Op.130 & Novorossiisk Chimes: RPO/Ashkenazy [DDD] (Decca 436 763-2) Suite on Verses of Michelangelo, Op.145a & Four Verses of Captain Lebyadkin,Op.146: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Ashkenazy [DDD] (Decca 433 319-2) "Song of the Forests"(Op.81) and "The Sun shines over our Motherland"(Op.90) Vladimir Ivanovsky [tenor], Ivan Petrov [bass], Moscow State Boys Choir, Moscow PO/Yurlov+USSR State Symphony Orchestra/Ivanov [ADD] (Russian Disc RD CD 11 048) The Bolt - Complete Recording: Royal Stockholm Radio Symphony Orchestra/Jarvi (Chandos CHAN 9343) Limid Stream (arr. Rozhdestvensky): Royal Stockholm Symphony Orchestra/ Rozhdestvensky (Chandos CHAN 9421) Hamlet (1932/1954 productions) * King Lear (1941): Incidental music CBSO/Elder [DDD] (Cala CACD 1021) CD's of interest to Shostakovich Devotees: ----------------------------------------- I have listed this as a small section because I believe that there are some CD's that only true devotees of Shostakovich would be interested in. I list these CD's as having works of interest, or CD's that are hard to find or are of a historic nature. "Manuscripts of Different Years" - Including: Scherzo, Op.1 and Op.7, Theme and Variations, Op.3, Spanish Songs Op.100, Suite from "Alone" Op.26, "Adventures of Korzinskina" Op.59 & "La Comedie Humaine" Op.37. Various Orchestras [AAD-Great sound] (Olympia OCD 194) Suite on Verses of Michelangeleo Buyonarroti, Op.145a & Four Verses of Captain Lebyadkin, Op.146 Fischer-Dieskau/Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Ashkenazy [DDD] (Decca 433 319-2) Violin Sonata, Op.134, Oleg Kagan (v) & Richter (p) [DDD] (Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga MK 418014) Viola Sonata, Op.147 (His last work). Bashmet (va) & Richter (p) [DDD] (Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga MK 418015) Arrangement of String Quartets 3&4 for Strings and Woodwinds (Op. 73a) and Chamber Orchestra (Op.83a) Orch. Barshai - Interesting versions COE/Barshai [DDD] (DG 435 386-2) "Hypothetically Murdered" (Op.31) Suite & 4 Romances on Poems of Pushkin(Op.46) Fascinating CD of this music (both premiere recordings)-gives clues to the 5th Symphony and more... CBSO/Elder [DDD] (United 88001) "The Orchestral Songs" - Vol 1: Two Fables of Krylov(Op.4), Three Romances on Poems by Pushkin(Op.46a), Six Romances on Verses by Raleigh, Burns and Shakespeare(Op.62/140) and From Jewish Folk Poetry(Op.79a). Gothenburg SO/Jarvi with solists [DDD] (DG 439 860-2) "The Orchestral Songs" - Vol 2: Six Romances on Texts by Japanese Poets, Op.21 Six Poems of Marina Tsvetayeva Op.143a and Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buonarorroti Op.145a, Gothenburg SO/Jarvi with solists [DDD] (DG 447 085-2) "Moscow, Cheryomuski" - musical comedy. This was released, in a new orchestration by Gerard McBurney and with new libretto in English with the BBC Music Magazine, April 1994. "Rothschild's Violin" - featuring DSCH's completion of his student's work. RCA Victor Red Seal / BMG Classics 09026-68434-2 4. "Testimony" - The Story ========================== In 1979 the book "Testimony - The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich - As related to and edited by Solomon Volkov" was published. This book, according to Volkov, contains the words of Shostakovich as related to him in the last years of his life. Shostakovich is said to have insisted that the book be published after his death. Since its release there has been wide criticism of this book with comments from friends of Shostakovich saying that Volkov must have made a lot of it up. Maxim Shostakovich remained silent for years on the subject but finaly agreed that the book has the "ring of truth" about it. Ian MacDonald's book "The New Shostakovich" (ISBN 0-19-284026-6) goes into some detail claiming the book to be fiction based on truth. Citing that the 'signed' pages that Volkov claims Shostakovich signed as proof of the book's validity are in fact from other sources, and are only produced as the first pages of chapters. MacDonald's book also delves into analysis of the times, both personally and politicaly and bases an analysis of the works of DSCH into this. Readers might also wish to read Elizabeth Wilson's splendid _Shostakovich: A Life Remembered_ with contains material of memories of many people who knew and interacted with Shostakovich during his life. This is a fascinating document, and well worth reading in conjunction with Testimony. Evidence which might demonstrate Volkov's Testimony is a complete fraud is available at the page called "Shostakovich Myths Debunked" at: http://www.az.com/~redrick/Shostakovich.html 5. Shostakovich's music in films and TV ======================================= Apart of course from the film of "Testimony", the Music of Shostakovich has been heard in the following Films or TV shows: The "Romance" From The Gadfly (Op.97/97a) is used as the theme to the Television Series "Reilly, Ace of Spies." Chris Hillman writes: The TV series was based on a (dreadful) book by the same title about a historical personage, one Sidney Reilly, who was apparently born in Russia late in the last century and who worked for the British secret service (and possibly others, as a double agent) in the early years of this century. He died under mysterious circumstances, as I recall, in the late twenties (in the TV series, he is show by a close associate of Felix Derzhinsky inside the USSR). The series and book were presented as historical fact but were in fact heavily fictionalized. Now in his excellent book the Codebreakers, David Kahn discusses the Voynich manuscript, which was owned at one time by a publisher named Voynich. Kahn mentions that his widow, Mrs. Voynich, wrote a novel called "The Gadfly" which was based on the life of a historical character in revolutionary Italy. In one of the books I read on Reilly it was mentioned that Mrs. Voynich knew Reilly personally and based her novel in part on his experiences. Surely this is the same novel which is the source of Shostakovich's Gadfly? Kahn mentions that Mrs. Voynich was one of the very few American authors ever awarded a royalty by the Soviet government--- apparently the revolutionary sentiments in the novel were felt to be politically correct. Chris is, as I have found from my EMI classics for pleasure recording of the Gadfly, correct. DSCH's "Gadfly" music (and the film) is based on the book by E. L. Voynich. Simon Hawkin adds: "Gadfly" was supposed to be a popular reading of the Soviet youth; anyway, DSCH's music was idiomatic and loved. And I think it may be worth mentioning that a lot of DSCH music was and is idiomatic for the Soviet and post-Soviet public; this also includes excerpts from his Jazz suites, Tahiti Trot, music for "Counterplan" (with its own confusion about the translation), Maxim's trilogy and other films, "march" from Sym 7, etc. --- Symphony No. 11 in Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" program --- Symphony No. 5 (slow movement+finale) & Sym. 8 in "Rollerball" --- Shostakovich's 12th Symphony (I think) was MENTIONED but not played in "Peggy Sue got Married" --- The 3rd mvt. of the 8th was used in the movie "Fandango". --- 2nd mvt. of the Ninth Symphony in the Finnish film "Ariel" by Aki Kaurismaki. --- 1st mvt. of the Sixth Symphony in the Finnish film version of "Crime and Punishment" (Dostoyevsky) by Mika Kaurismaki. Veli-Pekka Tahvanainen adds: I just recalled yet another (ab)use of Shostakovich by the Kaurismaki brothers: in their first feature length movie, Arvottomat (The Worthless), they use the infamous "invasion" part of 7th symphony. The scene is most surrealistic (well it could happen in the USA, I suppose...): a group of people are being evicted from their property, but they refuse to accept the eviction notice, using firearms to keep the authorities at bay. In the scene, said authorities approach the hut of these people using a big tractor shovel as a shield. Invasion, indeed... I had to try very hard to keep myself from laughing out loud! --- Apparently the 8th Symphony and perhaps other bits of DSCH's music are used quite a lot in the UK TV Series "The Onedin Line" Laurence Skelding comments: BBC TV's series "The Onedin Line " plagued the United Kingdom back in the seventies. It was a nautical tale - rather like Moby Dick - but without the Whale !! It was made worse by having a soundtrack culled from the ballet "Spartacus" composed by Aram Khachaturian. DSCH to my recollection had no posthumous contribution!!! --- What sounds very much like a small section of the 3rd movement of the 5th symphony appears in James Horner's ripped off soundtrack for "Clear and Present Danger" however it isn't DSCH but a copy of the great man. (this track also has copies of Horner's own "Aliens" music as well as a sister to some music from "Star Trek III" *sigh*) Laurence Skelding notes that the opening to the 14th symphony is used by Horner for the opening to Aliens. --- Apparently in the mini-series "Traffik" (about drugs) the chamber symphonies (Opp.110a/118a) are used. This comes from Falstaff. --- This is from Daniel Gowans The movie "The Shining" uses the first movement of his Symphony 11 in the opening scenes. It isn't purely symphonic, it had been adaped a little to different instruments, but it was unmistakaeable... Laurence Skelding, however, disagrees: Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" featured music by Krszystof Penderecki and Bela Bartok - (the weird bits in the maze are set to Bartok's Music for percussion, celesta and strings) --- This is from Michael Norish I'm pretty sure that the theme used in the (dire) Richard Briers sit-com "Ever-decreasing circles" is prelude #15 from Opus 34. (This has been confirmed by Classic CD editor, Rob Aimsley, who states: according to Derek Hulme's book, the theme tune to the BBC TV comedy "Ever Decreasing Circles" was indeed the Prelude Op. 34 No. 15, played by one Ronnie Lane. ) --- Several readers have indicated that parts of the 1st and 5th symphonies appear in a terrible film called "Brain Eaters" --- This is from Andrew Condon: Michael Deville's film "Toutes Peine Confondues", screened as "Sweetheart" in English speaking countries, is entirely scored with DSCH quartets using the Borodin Quartet recordings. --- Sometime in the sixties, a movie was made of Jean-Paul Sartre's play "The Condemned Of Altona." The music credit is 'based on Shostakovich's Symphony #11.' I regret I can't tell you more about the movie. I saw it on television when I was a teenager. Although I had read the play, and listened to Shostakovich a lot, I had never heard the Eleventh. The most striking scene in the movie, which has stayed with me to this day, was the approach to the climactic scene, a long vertical tracking shot up a construction crane elevator, with the ostinato from the third movement pounding away in the background. Chilling. - Dwight Gruber --- Euan Bayliss says: I have an addition to the use of DSCH in film. There was a dreadful film called 'Escape To Victory' which I believe used a lot of the firt movement of the 7th Symphony. --- An except of Symphony No. 7 and a complete performance of Symphony No. 9 is provided in the Bernstein Young People's Concerts video series being released by Sony. This particular tape's catalogue number is Sony Classical SHV 48339. This performance was originally broadcast by CBS TV on January 5, 1966 (interesting, the 61st anniversary of '1905'). --- A use of Shostakovich's music in films that I don't think you've got in the FAQ list is the 2nd mvt of the 10th symphony (I think) over the opening credits of Pedro Almodovar's `Ley del Deseo' (Law of Desire) - Graham Smith --- Aparently the 5th prelude and fugue (from Op.87) is used in "Smoke" --- This is from Nicolas Jasson: A theme of the 5th Symphony (3rd movement, 7'37" from start in the Kondrashin/Melodya recording) was the title music of the long-running French TV weekly program "Les Dossiers de l'Ecran" in the 70's and 80's. The same theme can be heard in the French film "Papi fait de la resistance" (directed by Jean-Marie Poire - 1990 ?), which includes a parody of the above TV program as its closing scenes. --- From: brownswan@aol.com (Brownswan) Another movie ripoff of DSCH: in POW soccer film "Victory" a variation of the 7ths "invasion theme" is used throughout, and the film conludes with the coda of the 5th Symphony's 4th movement. --- The film I mentioned once in which a snippet of Shostakovich sym 6 appears at a pivotal moment is "Running on Empty". -Eric Schissel 6. Books of interest to Shostakovich Fans ========================================= Below are listed some books that might be of interest to Shostakovich Fans (in alphabetical order): Dmitri Shostakovich, about Himself and his Times By Lev Grigoryev and Yakov Platek Published by Progress Moscow (1981) Dmitry Shostakovich, composer By David Rabinovich Published by Lawrence and Wisehart (1959) Dmitri Shostakovich; the Life and Background of a Soviet Composer By Victor Seroff Published by Alfred A. Knopf (1943) Galina-A Russian Story (Autobiography of Galina Vishnevskaya) ISBN 0-15-634320-7 Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Translation into English: Guy Daniels The Music of Dmitri Shostakovich: The Symphonies By Roy Blokker and Robert Dearling Published Tantivy Press (1979) The New Shostakovich (Paperback) By: Ian MacDonald ISBN 0-19-284026-6 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pages from the life of Dmitri Shostakovich By: Dmitri and Ludmilla Sollertinsky English version by Robert Hale London 1981 Simfonii D.D. Shostakovicha By L. Mazel Published in the USSR in 1960 (Apparently called propaganda by Maxim Shostakovich) Shostakovich By Norman Kay Published by Oxford University Press (1971) Shostakovich: A Catalog, Bibliography and Discography By: Derek C. Hulm Publisher: Oxford University Press (Second Edition) Shostakovich: A Life Remembered First issued in Hardback By: Elizabeth Wilson ISBN 0-571-15393-3 (hardback) 0-571-17486-8 (paperback - released soon?) Publisher: Faber and Faber, Ltd Paperback now available for 12.99 UK pounds, or 24.99 Canadian dollars Shostakovich Studies Edited by David Fanning Published by Cambridge University Press. Shostakovich Symphonies By: Hugh Ottaway Publisher: University of Washington and BBC Shostakovich, The Man and his Music Edited by: Christopher Norris Testimony: The Memiors of Shostakovich - as related to and edited by S. Volkov (Paperback) Edited by: Solomon Volkov ISBN 0-571-11829-1 Publisher: Faber and Faber, Ltd. 7. The "DSCH Journal" - a newsletter! ===================================== This comes from the monthly post by way of Howard Wilson. Announcing the "DSCH JOURNAL" (a monthly posting). THE JOURNAL IS PRINTED, BOUND, AND MAILED AND CONTAINS: WRITINGS on and by Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich. EVENTS concerning all aspects of the composer's life and music. NOTICEBOARD for important concerts, books, recordings, and conferences worldwide "ARENA" for you, the readers. ACCESS to the DSCH Archive with index. RECORDING SUPPLEMENT - your guide to all the new releases of DDS's music 4-EDITION subscription available worldwide. The Journal appears every July and December; The latest edition, #4, was distributed in December 1995. At present, you can choose to receive issues 5-8 as a first subscription or any other combination of four consecutive editions. If you like, in order to guarantee today's rate, you can subscribe to 8 editions (4 years), for twice the normal rate. To subscribe to Issues 5-8: Select your region. Select currency. Back issues available at a pro-rata cost -i.e. 25% of the four-edition subscription Region A: Europe-U.K. & France only-GBP20/180FF-Agent 1 Region B-Europe-other E.C. countries-GBP22/200FF-Agent 1 Region C-Europe-non E.C. countries-GBP24/220FF-Agent 1 Region D-U.S.A.-$29-Agent 2 Region E-Canada-US$29-Agent 2 Region F-other American countries-$35-Agent 2 Region G-Africa, Asia, Australasia-GBP28/250FF-Agent 1 Currency: Great Britiain Pounds (GBP) (cheques or cash) to Agent 1 payable to "DSCH" French Francs (FF) (cheques or cash) to Agent 1 payable to "A. Mercer" U.S. Dollars ($) (cash, checks or money orders ) to Agent 2 payable to "H. Wilson" Agent 1: E. Barnes 22, Birnbeck Court, Bells Hill. Barnet EN5 2TD. Hertfordshire U.K. Agent 2: Howard Wilson 2935 Larmona Dr. Pasadena, CA 91107 U.S.A. E-mail: hugh@wavenet.com Phone: 818-794-6522 Fax: 818-794-0881 I will be happy to try to answer any questions via e-mail or this newsgroup. Howard Wilson (hugh@wavenet.com) (The DSCH Journal also has a webpage: http://members.tripod.com/~DSCH/ ) 8. DSCH Reference on the World Wide Web (WWW) ============================================= Simon Hawkin has started a nice Shostakovich home page on the World Wide Web (WWW). It contains things like the 1942 Time magazine cover and article, as well as a recording of the Gadfly romance, with more to come. To access it, simply point your WWW browser to: http://www.cs.umd.edu/~cema/shostakovich.html Rob Hudson has is also in the process of creating a good looking web page for Shostakovich. Here is the URL: http://cwis.uta.edu/acs/microsys/mac/.HOME/rhudson/dsch1.html Onno van Rijen has created a superb DSCH catalogue on his page: http://www.worldonline.nl/~ovar And of course, Ian MacDonald, author of _The New Shostakovich_ has many interesting articles on his pages mostly about Russian composers such as Shostakovich and Prokofiev. Well worth visiting: http://www.siue.edu/~aho/musov/musov.html Jose Marques has placed a few MIDI files of Op. 87 preludes and fugues with some in jazz arrangements(!). You can find them at: http://www.GeoCities.com/Vienna/5619 Also here are the COMPLETE Op. 87 preludes and fuges as arranged for piano (eg: the originals ;) ). 9. The "DSCH Smiley" ==================== Carol Clemments' husband has suggested what we feel to be the definitive DSCH Smiley face, based on the "ascii smileys" so popular on the 'Net, this one surely *IS* Shostakovich: @%< 10. Information on The 'Fonds Chostakovitch' in Paris ===================================================== Michael Koball submitted this information for the newsgroup and I felt it appropriate to include here: From: michael.koball@gelsenkirchen.netsurf.de (Michael Koball) The 'Fonds Chostakovitch' in Paris Created in 1980, the ' Fonds Chostakovitch ' is a work about the memory of the most upsetting composer of our century. From the simple idea of centralize all the documents about the man and his time, our fund has quickly fed itself, getting touch with all the countries around the old sovietic empire ( before the Perestro=EFka ), of the quasi entirety of the material concerning the master. Regular travels in USSR, in Russia and other republics have completed this work. During the ' Ann=E9e Chostakovitch ' in 1989 ( France ) contacts have been taken with the composer' s family in Moscow ; an exciting and fruitful collaboration was borned. This allowed us to provide our fund with some documents more intimate. The ' Fonds Chostakovitch ' which possess more of the 95% of all the recordings made since 1933, and this, in all sizes, begins to start, since 18 months, a crucial phase of computarization with an Apple / 4=B0 Dimension program which tries to elaborate a relational data bank in sound, biography, bibliography, iconography and correspondence properties ; and all this in 3 basic languages : russian, french and english. Recently, an expertise mission was attributed to the ' Fonds Chostakovitch' near the Gostelradio in Moscow, as a russian music specialist. Thus, the 'Fonds ' had be able to retrieve films of archives of a great musical and political consequence. The 'Fonds Chostakovitch' is rich of some: * 1750 recordings on hard medium (78 RPM, all formats of LP,CD) * about a hundred hours of recordings of the most great rarity on magnetic medium * the quasi majority of his biographies in russian, polish, czech, hungarian, german, italian, english, french... * 90% of his works in scores about fifty hours of films from Russia,ex-GDR, Czecoslovaquia, Germany, France... * several kilogrammes of articles in different languages... * 400 russian and soviet composers are represented too by records, scores, films and biographies. An independant computer program is dedicated to that field. The 'Fonds Chostakovitch in Paris' which is at that time the main important center of musical documentation in the world about russian music, is attached to the Shostakovich's Museum in Moscow, and shall be the official Archives Departement of the future 'International Foundation Shostakovich'. Emmanuel & Fran=E7oise Utwiller =46onds Chostakovitch =E0 Paris BP 397 - 75233 Paris c=E9dex 05 (France) 11. First the music, then the books and film, and now.. the boat! ================================================================= This comes from Nicolas Jasson in France. Maybe a good place for an a.f.s get-together? :) ---------------- There is a cruise/ferry called "Dmitriy Shostakovich". She was built in Poland in 1980 at the A. Warski Shipyard. She was rebuilt in 1985 at the Swedish yard Cityvarvet. Her particulars are : Length overall: 134,50 m Beam: 21,00 m Draft: 5,50 m Draft: 5,50 m Gross tonnage: 11496 tons Speed: 20 knots Capacity: 213 passengers Russian flag. She is owned by Black Sea Shipping Company, the state shipping company of Ukraine. She is believed to operate on the Odessa/Israel route but I have not been able to ascertain her current trade. I'm grateful to ShipPax Information of Halmstad, Sweden, who allowed me to quote the above from their database of passenger vessels (http://www.shippax.se). ---------------- 12. Contributors to This FAQ ============================ I would like to thank the following people for their input to this FAQ: Tom McDonald, Sun Microsystems. Justin Paulson Peter Herweijer Igor Zamberlan Robert Begley Rainer Kalliany Ed Oswalt Christopher Colby Timothy S Harris JAMES MICHAEL BLACK Michael Good Holbrook Robinson Nico Verwer Veli-Pekka Tahvanainen Erik Ekholm Chris Hillman Louis Blois Falstaff Daniel Gowans Daria Wieczorek Simon Hawkin Michael Norish Rob Hudson Rob Ainsley Gary Goldberg Andrew Gingras Carol Clements M. Edward Borasky Matthew B. Tepper Andrew Condon Onno van Rijen Kirill V. Kuzmichov Tuomas Kareinen Dwight Gruber Euan Bayliss Adrian Smith Graham Smith Erik Gregersen Howard Wilson Nicolas JASSON Laurence Skelding Brownswan Fred redrick Jose Oscar Marques Peter Lundin Nicolas Jasson Sue Richman Allan Ho Eric Schissel -- "I don't care if you've got a | Richard Muirden, Systems Admin, ITS, RMIT Uni personal message from God | richard@rmit.EDU.AU // +61 3 9660 3814 complete with stone tablets..."| http://www.rmit.edu.au/richard - Commander Sinclar | Can you beat my 150 Shostakovich CD's? to Bester, Babylon 5 | Would you even *want* to? :-)