Favorite Moments in a Shostakovich Symphony

[karlhenning]

Well, obviously, the 'percolating' percussion at the end of the Scherzo of the Fourth.

The harp ostinato accompaniment (which echoes one of the Pushkin Romances) in the finale of the Fifth.

The wind chorale in the Seventh.

The retransition, in the last movement, to the motto theme from the first mvt, in terrifying fortissimo, in the Eighth.

[hornteacher]

Well I suppose mine is obvious but the first movement of the 5th when all eight horns play the main theme forte in the bass clef.  One of the most unique horn passages in music.

[hildegard]

....Going to Lincoln Center to hear Andrey Boreyko conduct Shostakovich's Fourth and discovering you have a front-row seat because the orchestra was so darn large, they took out the first three rows.... 

...There are many favorite and unforgettable moments in this highly emotional, if not disturbing piece. Experiencing it, sitting so close -- in your face as it were -- only intensifies and amplifies its many emotions. The eruption of the tympani toward the end of the final movement is as exhausting as it is exhilirating and hard to forget.... 

[Varg]

The 4th movement of the 11th. The dark theme from the first movement comes back, this time a bit different and with a solo, leading to the stunning ending!

[Ephemerid]

I luuuuvvvvv the 10th from start to finish, but one highlight is the final movement of the 10th symphony towards the end where the big D-S-C-H motif explodes ferociously out of the blue.  Its a really emotionally overwhelming moment. 

[Mark G. Simon]

The 13th has been my very favorite since I heard it performed last fall. A few favorite moments:

The rhythmic section in the first movement, "Babi Yar", which commences at the mention of "Byelostok".

The crushing climax to the 3rd movement "At the Store".

The haunting flute duet that opens the 5th movement "A career".

[Sergeant Rock]

The weird coda of the 15th with that percussion battery over a pedal point in the strings.

The icy, haunting second theme in the first movement of the Fifth.


Sarge

[vanessa_zang]

The parts of the last movement of the 5th that was in the Great Conductors of the Century video in which Lenny was conducting. When I hear it I instantly sees Lenny sweating, dancing and pulling sounds out of the orchestra who must be really hating this guy at that moment! ("I know what I am asking you to do goes against your training as string players, but YOU MUST!")

[greg]

I was just going to start this thread when I saw it! 

by Symphony......

1) the flutes melody in the first movement
2) the long crescendo, of course! One of the best moments in any of his symphonies.
3) can't really think of anything- definitely his weakest sym
4) see pic.... plus, well, the rest
5) hmmmmmmm the harp, horn, flute melody?
6) flute solo
7) whole first movement, love seeing that gentle melody thrashed around by horns
8 ) not too familiar with this one
9) first movement- can't possibly be this joyous and bouncy, could it?
10) the whole thing!
11) the whole thing again! Especially the serene opening theme, and the part around the middle of the second movement where the snare drum and basses break the silence. It's like a musical description of evil army tanks taking over a calm land and blowing up the whole place.
12) can't think of anything
13) the opening flutes theme in the last movement. So serene and.... well, i guess i don't have the words. 
14) lots here...... "the suicide" song, the solo xylophone melody, the strings glissandoing up until the solo tubular bell note is played...... and the ending, so unusual but an ending I like to here, since it's an ending I haven't already heard 5 million times!
15) love how he kinda "mocks" Rossini in the first movement.

[toledobass]

That passage for the lower strings in the 11th.

Allan

[karlhenning]

The weird coda of the 15th with that percussion battery over a pedal point in the strings.

(* Jeevesian cough *)

Well, obviously, the 'percolating' percussion at the end of the Scherzo of the Fourth.

He also alludes to that groove in the Second Cello Concerto

The allusion even in the Second Cello Concerto would not have been an entirely 'private' joke, since by then (at long last) the Fourth Symphony had finally been premiered, in the USSR and abroad.

[Sergeant Rock]

(* Jeevesian cough *)

What's wrong, Karl? Speak your mind.

Sarge

[karlhenning]

Oh, nothing remotely wrong, Sarge!  It was something of a Great minds &c. moment.

[greg]

The weird coda of the 15th with that percussion battery over a pedal point in the strings.

oh yeah, i remember it now! Somehow just thinking about the description brought the music back to mind. Yep, that one along with the ending of the 14th are both very unusual and surprising endings 

[Sergeant Rock]

Oh, nothing remotely wrong, Sarge!  It was something of a Great minds &c. moment.

Ah... 

[karlhenning]

As long as you don't object, that is, to the suggestion that my mind is nearly as great as yours . . . .

[Joe Barron]

None. Zero. Zip.

[karlhenning]

Look, all I said was how pleased I am for Elliott Carter that he did not have to wait until he was 100 for public recognition 

[Sean]

The opening song for the bass in the Fourteenth is one of his topdrawer weird ideas- Shostakovich distilled.

[Joe Barron]

Look, all I said was how pleased I am for Elliott Carter that he did not have to wait until he was 100 for public recognition 

Nothing against you, Karl, but I am just not a Shosty fan. There are some moments in the symphnies I can tolerate better than others, but there's nothing in them I really like.