D. Shostakovich "Waltz number 2"
Dmitry Shostakovich is an outstanding Soviet composer whose works are well known all over the world. However, among the works of the genius maestro there is a small essay, which is very much loved outside the borders of our country. Foreigners call it differently: "Second Waltz", "Waltz number 2" or simply "Russian Waltz". It's funny, but as soon as the music of this truly enchanting work begins to sound, the listeners, with delight, perceive it, begin to move to the beat, hum a melody and even dance. This composition by Dmitri Shostakovich is not a simple destiny, and it harbors many mysteries that the musicians and biographers of the composer still cannot comprehend.
History of creation
When exactly Dmitri Shostakovich composed his famous waltz, today nobody can say for sure: the composer took this mystery with him. However, biographers closely associate the history of its creation with the formation in 1936 of the USSR State Jazz Orchestra, whose music director was appointed Victor Knushevitsky, and the artistic director Matvey Blanter.
To create a diverse repertoire for the newly created orchestra, it was decided to turn to composers S. Prokofiev, D. Shostakovich and I. Dunaevsky. And in order to meet with Shostakovich and make him an order for a jazz composition, the artistic director of the orchestra even had to go to Leningrad. Dmitry Dmitrievich coped with the task fairly quickly: a few days later he arrived in Moscow and brought three plays. Instructors liked the orchestra very much, but there was no jazz character in this music. Then Shostakovich was offered to come to the rehearsal of the team. Having listened to the orchestra's play, the composer redid his compositions, and although there was nothing jazz about them, according to the musicians, they sounded amazing. Undoubtedly, these plays were immediately included in the concert program of the orchestra and were first performed in the Column Hall of the House of Unions in the autumn of 1938. Gosdzhaz (abbreviated naming of the collective) performed a lot, and always in his concert repertoire was Shostakovich's Suite for Jazz Orchestra. This continued until 1941, until the orchestra went to the front and was not surrounded by Germans. Most of the musicians died, and the team for this reason ceased to exist. Accordingly, all the notes were lost, and how the plays that make up the suite, composed by Dmitry Shostakovich, were called, nobody knows for sure today. However, there is still an assumption that "Waltz", which today is known as No. 2, was part of it.
Fifteen years have passed, and our waltz sounded again, but now not at concert venues, but from the screens of cinemas. In 1955, the famous film director Mikhail Kalatozov made the film "First Echelon", in which he used, of course, with the permission of the composer, this wonderful music. But at that time no one was interested in her story, and certainly because the film and the music playing in it were simply not noticed by anyone.
In 1988, Waltz No. 2 sounded again and this time in London at the Barbican Hall. And even though Mstislav Rostropovich conducted the orchestra, again there was no particular enthusiasm for the listeners.
It still remains a mystery how the music archives of the Soviet composer turned out to be abroad? And why for the first time the lost suite sounded not in our country, but abroad?
The whole "Jazz Suite" by Dmitri Shostakovich, which includes eight pieces, including our "Waltz" in 1991, was performed, and in 1993 was recorded on CD by the Royal Concertgebouw of the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, which was then conducted by Italian Ricardo Shayi However, the main role in the popularization of the now-famous essay by Shostakovich was played by American film director Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, in which the music of “Waltz” sounded memorable beautifully.
Interesting Facts
- When Matvey Blanter was going to go to Leningrad to meet with Shostakovich and make an order for plays for the newly created jazz orchestra, he first called on Aram Khachaturian to get a letter of recommendation, because personally Dmitry Dmitriyevich Blanter was not familiar then. Shostakovich long laughed at the fact that the famous composer came to him with recommendations.
- There are guesses that the composer allegedly used the method of compilation in composing his waltz, using the motifs of such well-known compositions such as Amur Waves, On the Hills of Manchuria, Danube Waves and, in addition, diluted it all with intonations from Johann Strauss Music.
- Dmitry Shostakovich's “Jazz Suite” was first performed in 1938 on November 28 by an orchestra conducted by V. Knushevitsky in the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions. This same concert is also significant by the fact that for the first time the audience was introduced to the song of Matthew Blanter "Katyusha", later in our country becoming the "greatest hit" for all times.
- During the war, Gosjejaz, reassigned to the military department, often went to the front with concert performances. In 1941, the collective, once surrounded by the city of Vyazma, lost the main conductor Yuri Lavrentiev and most of the musicians. After such tragic losses, the orchestra in its previous form has not been revived.
- Mikhail Kalatozov - a talented director, who shot the first tier film in 1955, in which the famous waltz sounded, became famous in the West after in 1958 at the 11th Cannes Film Festival received the main prize - " Golden palm branch ".
- Solo tromboneperforming the main theme of the waltz in the third part of the piece is one of the most popular classical solos for this instrument.
Content
The Russian Waltz has a lot of secrets from Shostakovich. Another one that does not give rest to art historians is the music of the work. Many believe that in style it is completely uncharacteristic for the composer. There is an assumption that Dmitri Dmitrievich, who loved to joke in his music, and in this case did the same, using the compilation technique, that is, he took the brightest intonations from popular works and arranged them on his own.
The composition, written in a simple three-part form, begins with a dry accompaniment of bass strings and a snare drum. Such accompaniment, reminiscent of the march of toy soldiers, will invariably sound throughout the play. Further, after four bars with an expressive and bright tune enters alto saxophonewhose timbre emphasizes the variety nature of the orchestration. The velvety sound of the wind instrument and the soulless accompaniment are contrasted to each other, peculiarly emphasizing the light and dark tones of the music. Further, the theme moving to stringed instruments, sounding more dynamically, leads to the middle section. To create a kind of intriguing tension, especially when the theme sounds for the entire orchestra, the composer used various percussion instruments in his instrumentation, including the pitch instruments. In addition, brass instruments that sound in extremely high ranges create a special tension in the music.
Mystery "Waltz number 2" Dmitri Shostakovich so far no one has been able to unravel: the author took her with him, but this is not so important. The main thing is that the composer gave people such amazing music that brings joy and inspires to do good deeds.
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