Discover More: Shostakovich 5
Cracking the code 鈥� I. Shostakovich鈥檚 fifth
Cracking the code 鈥� I. Shostakovich鈥檚 fifth
Part of the tremendous popularity of Shostakovich鈥檚 fifth symphony is that it is a show-stopper, a piece of huge dramatic power. But he also smuggles in plenty of hidden references and musical codes into his score, including references to loved ones and quotations from other composers. And then there鈥檚 the wonderful open-endedness, the cliffhanger question of his finale: is it a straight-forward celebration, written to appease the State censors, or a daring act of subversion?