The first five symphonies of Dmitri Shostakovich

This study presents an analysis of the first five symphonies of Dmitri Shostakovich. These works are-analyzed according to the following categories: form, harmony, thematic treatment, texture and orchestration. The purpose of this process is to reveal the essence of his' compositional style as exemplified in the first five symphonies, and to study musical features which may be considered unusual.A review of the musical elements strongly suggests that social and political factors had a significant impact on these works. The First Symphony illustrates the polished work of the gifted student Shostakovich, yet it is not innovative by contemporary standards; rather, it represents the high standards of craftsmanship at the Petrograd Conservatory. Shostakovich intentionally defies traditional symphonic form and content in the Second and Third Symphonies by incorporating many "modernistic" techniques which epitomize the progressive musical atmosphere of the 1920's as promoted by the Soviet Association for Contempoary Musicians.The Pravda attack on Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk came while Shostakovich was midway through the composition of the Fourth Symphony. Since the composer withheld the Fourthfrom performance until 1961, this postponement strongly indicates that he regarded his personal approach to form and great use of dissonance as too progressive for the period. Clearer formal organization, less dissonance, clearer textures and more effective use of instrumental resources characterize the Fifth Symphony's musical language. Yet in the Fifth, Shostakovich made no significant concessions to the Pravda criticism and produced his first mature symphony.A free treatment of form, less or no use of thematic development, extreme use of orchestral resources and frequent employment of dissonance in the Second, Third and Fourth Symphonies suggest that the composer experimented in these early works, making them significant in his evolution as a symphonist. Many similarities exist between the First and Fifth Symphonies, but in the latter work the balance of form and content is greater than in any of the earlier symphonies. The Fifth demonstrates that Shostakovich learned to combine artistic liberty with traditional techniques.Thesis (D.A.