Following the first thread I started in that vein (Schumann), I propose the work I consider to encompass most, if not all of what I hear in Shostakovich. The work that encapsulates all that makes him totally unique: the sound world, always recognizable whether it's in a chamber, orchestral or vocal work. The unique thematic cast. The mélange of nagging, motoric, driving rythms with moments of unbearable sadness and despair. Pride, defiance or clownish, satiric bite. The total command of structure, whether it is unconventional (symphonies 6, 8 and 13) or classical.
After much debating, I narrrowed the choice between the 2nd piano Trio and...the Piano Quintet. The latter is my choice for the quintessential Shostakovich work. What nailed it for me is the very beginning: the commanding, almost intimidating piano introduction in the form of a Bach prelude. And of course all that follows.
- The arch-like 5 movement structure (half of his quartets and symphonies are cast in one form or another of arch structure with an odd number of movements). Contrary to the classical four movement structure, the arch gives a sense of timelessness within temporal confines, a sort or orb instead of the usual horizontal line (as in 'horizon' : what your eyes can see starting and ending at the confines of one's visual span).
- The melodic contents, one of the strongest of all his works. The conciseness with which he develops his material. contrary to other movements where conciseness is absolutely not one of his concerns, such as in the first movements of his 4th, 7th and 8th symphonies. The rest of these works if of necessity unbalanced, a fact that Shostakovich acknowledges and copes with). The mastery and invention of its instrumentation. The full quintet is rarely used, except in the central scherzo. The extraordinary range used by the instruments, from the bottom to the top of their range (esp. the piano).
- The feeling that this is totally 'exposed' music from first to last. There is no place to hide - as in a Brahms quartet or quintet for example, where the middle voices and full use of the instruments' mid range create a very full, saturated sonority. It's as if nothing could possibly have been distributed differently: the instrumental voice that carries a particular melodic or rythmic aspect of the musical phrase. The character of the music demands exactly what the composer wrote. I suppose one could write the same of other DSCH works, but to my ears this is the one where the mix and concentration of these attributes is condensed to such a unique degree.
I'm not saying it's my preferred Shostakovich work, or the one that is most immediately appealing (it is not, by any stretch of the imagination). But to me it's the essence of DSCH.
