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Expanded Classical Form
- Shostakovich uses classical four-movement symphonic form but expands and twists it to fit his expressive needs.
- The first movement of his Tenth Symphony is unusually long because he needs time to make a complex emotional argument.
Politics Shapes Interpretation
- Shostakovich's music is tightly bound with Soviet politics but his exact personal stance remains ambiguous.
- The disputed memoir Testimony changed his reputation, but scholars still argue about its accuracy.
Three Themes In Conflict
- Shostakovich introduces three stark themes that he later pits against each other to create emotional catastrophe.
- He engineers a climactic fusion of these themes to produce a sense of massacre and grief.