Shostakovich Symphony No. 4
Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast
Joshua Weilerstein
4.9 • 2.5K Ratings
🗓️ 15 August 2024
⏱️ 68 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Shostakovich's 4th symphony is not for the faint of heart. It is a massive work, around an hour in length, and it calls for the second largest orchestra of any in Shostakovich's output. It is uncompromising, sometimes brutal, and it isn't nearly as lyrical that later Shostakovich has in spades. But with all that said, many people, including myself, consider this symphony Shostakovich's symphonic masterpiece. It has been described as the symphony containing the kernels of everything Shostakovich would ever write after. It also marks the final piece Shostakovich wrote before his 1936 denunciation that utterly changed the course of his life. Today, on this Patreon-sponsored episode, I'll take you through this monumental work, telling you the remarkable story of the conception and aborted first performance of the symphony. Then we'll dive into the music itself, talking about the large scope of the piece, it's unusual form, and of course the raw emotional core that is always so present in Shostakovich. Join us for a wild ride!
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to Sticky Notes, the Classical Music Podcast. |
| 0:14.0 | My name is Joshua Wylestein. |
| 0:15.4 | I'm a conductor, and I'm the music director-designate of the Orchestra National |
| 0:18.5 | Delisle, and the chief conductor of the Allborg Symphony. This podcast is for anyone who loves classical music, works in the field, |
| 0:25.3 | or is just getting ready to dive in to this amazing world of incredible music. Before we get |
| 0:30.0 | started, I want to thank my new Patreon sponsors, Hay Young, Tzfi, Susan, Maria, Shai, |
| 0:36.9 | and all of my other Patreon sponsors for making Season 10 possible. |
| 0:41.1 | If you'd like to support the show, please head over to patreon.com slash sticking out's podcast. |
| 0:46.1 | And if you are a fan of the show, please take a moment to give us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. |
| 0:50.9 | It is greatly appreciated. |
| 0:57.2 | So I've just returned back from Norway after a wonderful week with the Norwegian National Youth Orchestra. We did a program with Berlioza Symphony |
| 1:02.0 | Fantastique, a fascinating arrangement of Grieg's Piergkin's suite with the wonderful violinist |
| 1:07.3 | Ragnéhild Hemsing, and Lily Boulanger's d' in Matins de Prant, a piece I talked about a few weeks ago. |
| 1:13.7 | I'm really excited for today's episode on Shostakovich's Fourth Symphony, |
| 1:16.9 | which was sponsored by Stephen on Patreon. |
| 1:20.1 | If you would like to hear me talk about a piece that I've not talked about before, |
| 1:23.4 | please head over to patreon.com slash sticky notes podcast to find out how to do that. |
| 1:29.0 | On to the show. It might be a bit surprising that I'm going to start today's show with a funny story, |
| 1:53.7 | but Shostakovich was known for his deeply ironic sense of humor, so I hope he would appreciate |
| 1:59.0 | this one. |
| 2:00.3 | I've only heard Shostakovich's Fourth Symphony live a couple of times. |
| 2:04.6 | The first time was in Boston with the Boston Symphony, and it was a fantastic concert. |
... |
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