Forces
Besides the soloists, the symphony is scored for a chamber orchestra consisting of only strings and percussion. The strings consist of ten violins, four violas, three cellos, and two double basses, and the percussion section (three players) includes wood block, castanets, whip, soprano, alto and tenor tom-toms, xylophone, campane, vibraphone, and celesta. Interestingly, the percussion section does not include common instruments such as timpani, bass drum, cymbals, or triangle.
Read more about this topic: Symphony No. 14 (Shostakovich)
Famous quotes containing the word forces:
“What if all the forces of society were bent upon developing [poor] children? What if society’s business were making people instead of profits? How much of their creative beauty of spirit would remain unquenched through the years? How much of this responsiveness would follow them through life?”
—Mary Heaton Vorse (1874–1966)
“If in the opinion of the Tsars authors were to be the servants of the state, in the opinion of the radical critics writers were to be the servants of the masses. The two lines of thought were bound to meet and join forces when at last, in our times, a new kind of regime the synthesis of a Hegelian triad, combined the idea of the masses with the idea of the state.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail—its roof may shake—the wind may blow through it—the storm may enter—the rain may enter—but the King of England cannot enter!—all his forces dare not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement!”
—William Pitt, The Elder, Lord Chatham (1708–1778)