In Reply to: Not sure what you mean... posted by SE on March 20, 2007 at 09:09:12:
"Removing the "non-musical context" from ANY work by Shostakovich injects disagreement with regard to proper performance."My point, apparently poorly made, was that whether or not there is or is not an extra-musical context we have an objective guide: the metronome mark.
Shostakovich's marking *forces* the musicians to bring the extra-musical meaning to the fore--it's damn hard to sound joyful at an eighth-note = 176. Whether that results in "blaring and scraping" is pretty immaterial; neither are necessary for the performance to convey the composer's meaning.
There is also a striking spatial metaphor in this ending. The strings are repeating a unison A over and over again, relentless and cold. They are like the bars of a giant cell, behind which the cowering masses "rejoice."
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Follow Ups
- Sorry, I was responding to a post that said - markrohr 10:12:57 03/20/07 (2)
- Yes, thanks... - SE 10:38:18 03/20/07 (1)
- Gotcha. nt - markrohr 12:38:29 03/20/07 (0)