Shostakovich!

No other composer has inspired me more deeply than Shostakovich.

  Go and listen to his 10th symphony. I do not believe you will tell me that your time was wasted. This work is incredible. It haunts me, sends me into fits of ecstacy, has me jumping out of my seat in high energy and leaves me singing its melodies for the remainder of the day.
 
  #13  This symphony was not a quick love for me. It grew slowly, but all the more intensely for it. Shostakovich had a powerful way of commenting on tragedy. His personal sense of horror at the treatment of the Jews during World War II is astounding. He took a personal stake in revealing and reminding people of the holocaust.

  "...It would be good if Jews could live peacefully and happily in Russia, where they were born. But we must never forget about the dangers of anti-Semitism and keep reminding others of it, because the infection is still alive and who knows if it will ever disappear."  (quoted from Volkov, Testimony, 158—159.)


 

 10th Mvmt. I   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zA5lv8uZHw&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL973071124207D84A

10th Mvmt. II  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZbJOE9zNjw

10th Mvmt. III  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LTGNZrkcDQ&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL973071124207D84A

10th Mvmt.  IV  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFDLGj_SJRM&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL973071124207D84A

13th  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpSnWW1du0Q&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL541BB26B3C9099C5

  Playing Cello was fun right from the beginning, but I did not awaken to the emotional impact and soulical effect it had on me until I learned Shostakovich's Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor, Op. 40.

  From then on, the world of music became a more intense place for me.

  It is November 11th today and in Canada it is a time for remembering those who fight and have fought on our behalf to bring peace.

  I am thankful for the heroic actions taken by our veterans to stop the violence that had infected many during WWII.

A very large bit of symphonic music.

 In light of the fact that my Mom is attending a performance of Mahler's 3rd Symphony, I decided to write something on it.

  I began listening to this particular symphony a few years ago and to say that I was hooked promptly would be a fallacy. It received a good number of scrutinizing listens before it settled in proper. That being said, every time I hear it played it receives rapt attention. I now consider it among my favorites.
  If the opportunity arrises for me to hear this work in a live performance, I will be attending with a euphoric sense of expectation.

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1040831/a/Mahler+3+%2F+Solti,+Helga+Dernesch,+Chicago+Symphony.htm

This is one of the greatest syphonies written. It also happens to be quite lengthy, which suits me just fine. Why would you want such fantastic music to end quickly? (P.S. Mom, I hope you enjoy the performance to the utmost degree.)