Symphony No. 3 (Shostakovich)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Opus 20; subtitled First of May) by Dmitri Shostakovich was first performed by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra and Academy Capella Choir under Aleksandr Gauk on 6 November 1931.

Similar to the Second Symphony, it is an experimental choral symphony in four continuous sections:

1. Allegretto - Allegro
2. Andante
3. Largo
4. Moderato:'V pervoye Pervoye maya'

The symphony lasts around 25 to 30 minutes. The finale sets a text by Semyon Isaakovich Kirsanov praising May Day and the revolution. Interpretation is problematic: in a letter to Boleslav Yavorsky, Shostakovich said that the work "expresses the spirit of peaceful reconstruction"; on the other hand, most of the material preceding the finale is dark in tone, and it originally included a part for machine gun.

[edit] External links

• Text in English, French, German and Russian

v • d • e Symphonies by Dmitri Shostakovich No. 1 in F minor · No. 2 in B major (To October) · No. 3 in E flat major (The First of May) · No. 4 in C minor · No. 5 in D minor · No. 6 in B minor · No. 7 in C major (Leningrad) · No. 8 in C minor · No. 9 in E flat major · No. 10 in E minor · No. 11 in G minor (The Year 1905) · No. 12 in D minor (The Year 1917) · No. 13 in B flat minor (Babi-Yar) · No. 14 · No. 15 in A major List of compositions by Dmitri Shostakovich