Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
5-2010
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
M.M.
Department (Legacy)
Department of Music History and Literature
Committee Chair
Christensen, Jean, 1940-
Author's Keywords
Shostakovich; Dmitrii Dmitrievich; Yevtushenko; Yevgeny Aleksandrovich; Russia
Subject
Shostakovich, Dmitrii? Dmitrievich, 1906-1975; Shostakovich, Dmitrii? Dmitrievich, 1906-1975. Symphonies. no. 13, op. 113, B? minor; Yevtushenko, Yevgeny Aleksandrovich, 1933-
Abstract
Yevgeny Yevtushenko wrote five poems that critiqued Soviet society. The poems, on topics as diverse as anti-Semitism, the suppression of humor, the mistreatment of women, state repression, and bureaucracy, were written at separate times and for different reasons, and were not conceived of expressing a larger message. Dmitri Shostakovich perceived that, despite their disparate topics, the poems could be connected to express a larger critical message. Shostakovich connected the texts musically through tonal and motivic relationships between movements. As a result of these musical connections, the different critiques of the poems were connected. Shostakovich also paraphrased other compositions, referencing music outside the symphony as a metaphor for the universal nature of the text's criticisms. These connections create the musical cohesion that makes the work a symphony, and also relate the various poems in order to express a larger critique of the Soviet regime and way of life.
Recommended Citation
Hausmann, John Peter, "Shostakovich, Yevtushenko, and criticism in the Thirteenth Symphony." (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 585.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/585
