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  1. Path: sparky!uunet!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!menudo.uh.edu!Elroy.UH.EDU!CHEM91
  2. From: chem91@Elroy.UH.EDU ("Bill Harrison (713)-743-2789")
  3. Newsgroups: rec.music.classical
  4. Subject: Re: Shostakovich symphony recommendations
  5. Date: 23 Dec 1992 17:19:34 GMT
  6. Organization: University of Houston
  7. Lines: 28
  8. Message-ID: <1ha736INNj40@menudo.uh.edu>
  9. References: <1992Dec19.202445.18333@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> <1992Dec22.084440.2125@news.unige.ch>,<1992Dec23.154022.18623@nosc.mil>
  10. Reply-To: chem91@Elroy.UH.EDU
  11. NNTP-Posting-Host: elroy.uh.edu
  12.  
  13. [...]
  14. >
  15. >     Although you asked for recommendations, I'll give you a warning.
  16. >Until you become a Shostakovich fanatic, avoid #2 and #3.  They have
  17. >moments, but they're both marred by some of the most dismal choral
  18. >music ever written.  The music itself is only pedestrian, but it was
  19. >written while Shostakovich was attempting to follow Stalin's dictates
  20. >and the texts are awful, politically correct (Soviet-style), claptrap.
  21. >
  22. >                Charlie
  23.  
  24.  
  25. By no means...  #2 and #3 are musically interesting (Shostakovich's most
  26. "avant garde" period) and whether you consider the texts to be "claptrap" 
  27. depends more on your political than your aesthetic sensibilities.
  28.  
  29. These works were written in the 1920s, **before** any extensive involvement
  30. of the Party in directing musical life.  Musical conservatives, who 
  31. gained the upper hand with Party support in the 1930s probably deplored 
  32. these early works by this young "upstart" composer...
  33.  
  34. Bill
  35.  
  36. + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\               /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+
  37. | Bill Harrison,            \             /       "Be as radical as... |
  38. | University of Houston, TX  >-----------<         reality itself"     |
  39. | CHEM91@JETSON.BITNET      /             \                V. I. Lenin |
  40. + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/               \~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+
  41.