by Adam Newell
Music is known for its influences and the contexts from which they draw influence from, in terms of their performance and their composition. One such prevalent and plentiful source is political influence; the political values of the composer or the audience, or the political actions occurring (or not occurring) at the time impress on the creation and perception of some genres of music.
Dmitri Shostakovich’s music was heavily influenced, or restrained, by political context; he was raised as a composer during Soviet Russia, through World War II, Stalin’s death and surrounded by anti-semitic views. [1] A lot of his earlier public works were highly restricted in terms of their experimentation, and he was criticised and denounced when they were out of official favour.[2] [3] His later works, such as his Thirteenth Symphony and his Eighth String Quartet, were influenced by anti-semantic views and communism respectively.
Shostakovich is known to be strongly against anti-semitic views[4], and after reading the poem Babi Yar by Yevtushenko, he was moved enough to express his distaste for anti-semitic ideas by composing his Thirteenth Symphony, subtitling it Babi Yar. The controversy of this piece and the Soviet Party’s disfavour for it led it to be banned shortly after its premiere performance. His Eighth String Quartet, however, has political and personal connotations as it was written within 3 days, almost immediately after he had joined the Communist Party. The piece is notably dark and reflective, rather than celebrating his new place in the Communist Party. It effectively communicates his unwillingness to be a part of the Party and his consequent suicidal thoughts. [5] [6]
George Crumb, a well-known experimental composer, composed a piece entitled Black Angels for an electric string quartet, subtitled Thirteen Images from the Dark Land.[7] This piece, although not entirely influenced by politics, has been noted by the composer to contain some amount of “wartime feel” derived from its time; the work was composed in 1970, during the events of the Vietnam War.[8] The political context of the time has been placed upon this work by both the composer and the audience – Crumb’s inscription on the score “in tempore belli”, meaning “in time of war” and his choice to include threnodies (music of mourning, used in memory of the dead) in the composition served to solidify the political overtones.[9] [10] The piece is largely about good vs. evil[11], and the distortion and tritones present in the first part, Threnody I: Night of the Electric Insects, resonates with the conflict of the time.
Bibliography:
Books:
Kay, N. 1971, ‘Crisis’, Oxford Study of Composers: Shostakovich, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, Ely House, London W.I.
Wilson, E. 2006, Shostakovich: A Life Remembered, Second Edition, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Cohen, D. 2002, George Crumb: A Bio-Bibliography, First Edition, Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT USA
Course Papers:
McKay, C. 2000, ‘Political Influences on the Music of Shostakovich’, Course Paper, University of Guelph, Canada, viewed 26th April 2011 <http://www.music.mcgill.ca/~cmckay/papers/musicology/ShostakovichPolitics.pdf>
Newspaper Articles:
Burwasser, P. 2004, ‘Symphony of Destruction: Composer George Crumb goes to war with “Black Angels”’, Philadelphia City Paper, 18th March, viewed 27th April 2011 <http://archives.citypaper.net/articles/2004-03-18/cover3.shtml>
Websites:
Crumb, G. n.d, Black Angels (Images I), George Crumb Official Website, viewed 27th April 2011 <http://www.georgecrumb.net/comp/black-p.html>
[1] McKay, C. 2000, ‘Political Influences on the Music of Shostakovich’, Course Paper, University of Guelph, Canada, viewed 26th April 2011 <http://www.music.mcgill.ca/~cmckay/papers/musicology/ShostakovichPolitics.pdf> p. 1
[2] Kay, N. 1971, ‘Crisis’, Oxford Study of Composers: Shostakovich, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, Ely House, London W.I.
[3] Kay, N. ‘Second Crisis’
[4] Wilson, E. 2006, Shostakovich: A Life Remembered, Second Edition, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
[5] McKay, C. p. 11
[6] Kay, N. pp. 53 - 56
[7] Crumb, G. n.d, Black Angels (Images I), George Crumb Official Website, viewed 27th April 2011 <http://www.georgecrumb.net/comp/black-p.html>
[8] Burwasser, P. 2004, ‘Symphony of Destruction: Composer George Crumb goes to war with “Black Angels”’, Philadelphia City Paper, 18th March, viewed 27th April 2011 <http://archives.citypaper.net/articles/2004-03-18/cover3.shtml>
[9] Crumb, G. n.d, Black Angels (Images I).
[10] Cohen, D. 2002, George Crumb: A Bio-Bibliography, First Edition, Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT USA, pp. 10 - 11
[11] Crumb, G. n.d, Black Angels (Images I).
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