Rostropovich performing the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No.1
TopicShostakovich Cello Concerto No.1My senior project is to record a video of me performing the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No.1 in E flat major. I will be playing alongside with piano accompaniment, which is supposed to replicate the intercut symphonic orchestra part being led by a conductor. This complete work is one of the most rigorous and challenging concertos (a solo piece for cello accompanied by orchestra/piano) ever written.
About the Concerto |
This piece was composed by the famous Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich in 1959. It was originally written for his friend; famous cello virtuoso Mstislav Rostropovich, who premiered the piece on October 4th 1959 with Yevgney Mravinsky conducting the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra.
This 30 minute virtuosic work has 4 movements, showcasing all the textures, sounds, timbres, and colors that the cello can produce in a single piece of music. The concerto was written in a dark time during the reign of the Soviet Union. It reflects the themes and emotions experienced by one living in the corrupt world at the time. To put such an abstract yet depressing story concept into music, Shostakovich utilizes key modulations and time signature shifts, which he sporadically riddles amongst the piece to represent all the fright and commotion being experienced by the common people of Russia at the time. Taking advantage of the way the cello sounds, he marks down aggressive dynamic changes and rough bow strokes in the sheet music which not only adds to the chaos and anxiety of the story being told, but only further amplifies the narrative being portrayed.
All the musical techniques and melodies that he uses to communicate the raw emotions being felt in his dark life, is what makes this concerto like none other. This is what has inspired me as a musical artist to interpret and express this piece to the best of my abilities.
This 30 minute virtuosic work has 4 movements, showcasing all the textures, sounds, timbres, and colors that the cello can produce in a single piece of music. The concerto was written in a dark time during the reign of the Soviet Union. It reflects the themes and emotions experienced by one living in the corrupt world at the time. To put such an abstract yet depressing story concept into music, Shostakovich utilizes key modulations and time signature shifts, which he sporadically riddles amongst the piece to represent all the fright and commotion being experienced by the common people of Russia at the time. Taking advantage of the way the cello sounds, he marks down aggressive dynamic changes and rough bow strokes in the sheet music which not only adds to the chaos and anxiety of the story being told, but only further amplifies the narrative being portrayed.
All the musical techniques and melodies that he uses to communicate the raw emotions being felt in his dark life, is what makes this concerto like none other. This is what has inspired me as a musical artist to interpret and express this piece to the best of my abilities.