Shostakovich in the Soviet Union

Shostakovich’s relationship with the government was turbulent and complex, falling in and out of favour. His first brush with the authorities came in 1936 when his opera Lady Macbeth was mocked by Stalin and it is thought it was he who instigated a scathing article in the official newspaper Pravda. Shostakovich was accused of formalism – his music was too intellectual and complex to be considered Socialist Realism. The arts were seen as powerful propaganda tools, and Socialist Realism glorified the roles of the working class and docile and promoted socialist ideals. Around the same time, Pravda was also critical of his ballet The Limped Stream, accusing its portrayal of peasant life on the collective farm as incorrect.

1936 marked the beginning of the Great Purge when many of Shostakovich’s friends and relatives were killed or sent to camps. Shostakovich feared for himself and his family. His symphony No.4 was in progress at the time of the Pravda articles, and although wary of further upsetting the Party, Shostakovich continued the composition intending to premiere at the end of the year. After a handful of rehearsals he suddenly withdrew the work. It is thought that this was on an official order, masquerading as a voluntary action; the work would finally premiere in 1961, long after Stalin’s death.

Fifth Symphony

In 1937 Shostakovich premiered his Symphony No.5 with the aim of returning to favour and reigniting his career. This was musically much more conservative than his previous work, and Shostakovich approved the description of the symphony as ‘A Soviet Artist’s Response to Just Criticism’ – in other words doing what he was told by the government. Music critics and the authorities were in agreement, saying he had learnt from his previous mistakes. The government praised the work highly, showing that the artist had bowed to its demands. Publically, the work was a major success; the audience wept during the performance and there was half an hour of applause.
Ultimately, the work was interpreted in two completely different ways – by the government as a culmination of everything it had demanded from Shostakovich, and by the public as a representation of the suffering it had been subjected to by Stalin.

Debates of its interpretation

There is debate about the final movement of the symphony. On the surface it is nationalistic with heroic lyricism, but many people hear an undercurrent of despair, as if Shostakovich had interred a hidden message. The celebratory feel of this movement sounds forced at the published tempo of 184 quaver beats per minute. His use of chromatic alterations to the minor key also harbour doubt at this supposed triumphant ending. These hints at despair were obvious to the public audience, mourning over the loss of their loved ones during The Purge, but seemingly lost on Stalin himself, in whose eyes Shostakovich was back in favour, at least for the next few years.

My Response

For this exercise, I listened to several recordings of the final movement; two at the fast tempo and two at the slow tempo. These were:

Slow
Vladimir Ashkenazy – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Wolfgang Sawallisch - The Philadelphia Orchestra
Fast
Leonard Bernstein – New York Philharmonic
Mark Ermler – Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra

I found it clear to hear the slower versions’ inferences to the suffering of the Russian people at the time, compared to the fast version which sounds very nationalistic and powerful.
A peculiar thing I did notice about the two faster versions was that even starting out the same, one had a much slower ending, heard clearly especially in the timpani. Stylistically choosing the faster speed overall, could this contradictory slower ending have been a nod to Shostakovich’s perceived intentions?
My own preference lies with the faster version, for sheer pomp and excitement. However with a deeper understanding of the works conception, and of the situation as a whole that Shostakovich found himself composing in, the slower version does give a very emotional picture, and a snapshot of the Russian people’s feelings at the time.