Review (PDF) Dmitri Shostakovich, Pianist
Dmitri Shoshtakovich (1906-1975) is recognized as one of the greatest composers of the twentieth century yet few people know that he was also an outstanding concert pianist who maintained a hectic performing schedule. In Dmitri Shostakovich, Pianist Sofia Moshevich offers a detailed examination of Shoshtakovich the pianist within the context of his life and work as a composer. through his correspondence with family and friends and his own and his contemporaries' memoirs, using material never before available in English. This biographical narrative is interwoven with analyses of Shoshtakovich's piano and chamber works, demonstrating how he interpreted his own music. For the first time, Shoshtakovich's own recordings are used as primary sources to discover what made his playing unique and to dispel commonly held myths about his style of interpretation. His recorded performances are analysed in detail, specifically his tempos, phrasing, dynamics, pedal, and tonal production. Some unpublished variants of musical texts are included and examples of his interpretations are provided and compared to various editions of his published scores.
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press (March 19, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0773525815
ISBN-13: 978-0773525818
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
Best Sellers Rank: #5,248,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #62 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Composers > Shostakovich #1884 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Musical Genres > Ethnic & International > Ethnomusicology #2055 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Biographies > Classical
Make no mistake == this is a fine book. But it's about Shostakovich's history, with a particular emphasis on his appearances as a pianist. What I felt was missing was criticism and analysis of the piano works themselves. There should have been much more, for example, about the Sonata No. in B Minor. Why most of the great Soviet pianists -- with the notable exceptions of Gilels and Yudina -- shied away from it, and what the composer was after in this unremittingly grim (to my ears) and great work. There should also have been much more about the 24 Preludes and Fugues: how, for example, they comprise a cycle with a beginning, middle and end. It's nevertheless a fine biography of the man who may have been the last of the great pianist/composers and ought to be read by anyone interested in him.
Music to the Film "Alone" Op. 26: New Collected Works of Dmitri Shostakovich - Volume 123 (Dmitri Shostakovich New Collected Works, Volume 123) Dmitri Shostakovich, Pianist Symphony No. 2, Op. 14 "To October": New Collected Works of Dmitri Shostakovich - Volume 2 Symphony No. 3, Op. 20 & Unfinished Symphony of 1934: New Collected Works of Dmitri Shostakovich - Volume 3 Symphony No. 5, Op. 47: New Collected Works of Dmitri Shostakovich - Volume 20 Symphony No. 9, Op. 70: New Collected Works of Dmitri Shostakovich - Volume 9 What Every Pianist Needs to Know About the Body A First Book of Chopin: for the Beginning Pianist with Downloadable MP3s (Dover Music for Piano) The Young Pianist's Library, 1A: From Bach to Bartok A First Book of Beethoven: 24 Arrangements for the Beginning Pianist with Downloadable MP3s (Dover Music for Piano) A First Book of Brahms: 26 Arrangements for the Beginning Pianist (Dover Music for Piano) Spotlight on Romantic Style: Five Original Pieces for the Intermediate Pianist in Preparation for the Works of Chopin The Boosey & Hawkes Piano Solo Collection: Rachmaninoff: 29 Favorite Themes Arranged for the Intermediate Pianist (Boosey & Hawkes Solo Piano Collection) A First Book of Tchaikovsky: for the Beginning Pianist with Downloadable MP3s (Dover Music for Piano) Music Featured in the Motion Picture The Pianist: Nine Pieces by Frederic Chopin for Piano Solo (Misc) Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire, third edition Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire, Fourth Edition (Indiana Repertoire Guides) The Pianist's Guide to Transcriptions, Arrangements, and Paraphrases: The Cambridge Companion to Shostakovich (Cambridge Companions to Music)
