Symphony No. 14 (Shostakovich) - Movements

Movements

The work has eleven linked movements, each a setting of a poem:

  1. Adagio. "De profundis" (Federico García Lorca)
  2. Allegretto. "Malagueña" (Federico García Lorca)
  3. Allegro molto. "Loreley" (Guillaume Apollinaire)
  4. Adagio. "Le Suicidé" (Guillaume Apollinaire)
  5. Allegretto. "Les Attentives I" (On watch) (Guillaume Apollinaire)
  6. Adagio. "Les Attentives II" (Madam, look!) (Guillaume Apollinaire)
  7. Adagio. "À la Santé" (Guillaume Apollinaire)
  8. Allegro. "Réponse des Cosaques Zaporogues au Sultan de Constantinople" (Guillaume Apollinaire)
  9. Andante. "O, Del'vig, Del'vig!" (Wilhelm Küchelbecker)
  10. Largo. "Der Tod des Dichters" (Rainer Maria Rilke)
  11. Moderato. "Schlußstück" (Rainer Maria Rilke)

The first movement begins with the violins playing a theme reminiscent of the Dies irae, which plays a prominent role in the history of Russian music. Fragments of the theme are developed in various sections throughout the symphony; it recurs in its entirety in the climactic penultimate movement.

The work shows Shostakovich's willingness to adopt new techniques. All but two of the movements include themes using tone rows, which he uses to convey a sense of the abstract. He also makes dramatic use of tone clusters, such as the fortissimo chord illustrating the lily growing from the suicide's mouth in the fourth movement.

Read more about this topic:  Symphony No. 14 (Shostakovich)

Famous quotes containing the word movements:

    “The novel is not “a crazy quilt of bits”; it is a logical sequence of psychological events: the movements of stars may seem crazy to the simpleton, but wise men know the comets come back.”
    —Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)

    “The short lesson that comes out of long experience in political agitation is something like this: all the motive power in all of these movements is the instinct of religious feeling. All the obstruction comes from attempting to rely on anything else. Conciliation is the enemy.”
    —John Jay Chapman (1862–1933)

    “In the works of man, everything is as poor as its author; vision is confined, means are limited, scope is restricted, movements are labored, and results are humdrum.”
    —Joseph De Maistre (1753–1821)