1906-1975
There are no two ways about it; Shostakovich's music was tied up with Soviet politics.
Since I am not a scholar in this area, I won't make any statements of any veracity. Many believe Shostakovich was either always on the verge of being murdered by the government and at odds with their stances, especially concerning music and their Soviet-Realism movement, while others say he had a higher value among the ruling political parties than what Volkov's Testimony would have one believe.
Because I am not from that part of the world, I hardly have any first-hand knowledge or sources on the matter, so my viewpoint is always the music and its effect upon my listening. I make no political pronouncements one way or the other, and leave politics to those with more insight than I.
In my mind, Shostakovich's compositions fall into two distinct areas; populous pleasing and tougher modernism, not too dissimilar from Prokofiev. Otherwise, he composed across many genres, making particularly important contributions to the symphony and string quartet, but also to film music and the stage.
His musical attributes could be melodic and colorful, or elements could be harsh and astringent. I can't say I always understand this composer's music, but rarely do I find any of it particularly off-putting either. Yet, much of his music carries a certain emotional weight, which raises his contributions as a composer in my eyes.
I recently went through a large swathe of Shostakovich's oeuvre on record, so I feel like I have listened to many facets of this composer, even just through my most recent run alone. It will, however, take me a while to get everything up and going for a composer with so many recordings to his name.
I have listed my most recent reviews by the date of its recording, and below that, by genre.
Recordings and reviews currently on hand (Click below to visit):
By Recording Date
1986: Symphony 14
1988: Symphony 11
1991: Symphony 12
1993: Jazz Album
1994: Orchestral Songs, Vol. 1
1995: Cheryomushki
1995: Fall of Berlin & Zoya
1995: Orchestral Songs, Vol. 2
1996: Limpid Stream
1996: Orchestral Works
1996: Symphony 5 & 9
1996: Symphony 7
1997: Dance Album
1998: New Babylon
1999: Film Album
1999: Piano Concertos
2001: Gadfly & Hypothetically Murdered
2001: Symphony 2 & 3
2002: Symphony 4
2003: Ballet Suites
2003: Film Music, Vol. 1
2004: Film Music, Vol. 2
2004: Hypothetically Murdered
2006: Film Music, Vol. 3
2006: Piano Trios
2006: Songs & Waltzes
2006: Symphony 1
2006: Symphony 10
2006: Words of Michelangelo
2007: Symphony 13 & 15
2008: Symphony 6
2009: Girlfriends & Salute to Spain
2010: String Quartets (Box Set)
2013: Cello Concertos
2013: Choral Music
2013: Symphony 8
2015: Cantatas
2015: Violin Concertos
2018: Lady and the Hooligan
By Genre
Symphonies
Symphony 1
Symphony 2 & 3
Symphony 4
Symphony 5 & 9
Symphony 6
Symphony 7
Symphony 8
Symphony 10
Symphony 11
Symphony 12
Symphony 14
Symphony 13 & 15
Concertos
Piano Concertos
Cello Concertos
Violin Concertos
Chamber Music
Piano Trios
SQs 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9
SQs 4, 8, 10
SQs 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
String Quartets (Box Set)
Vocal & Choral
Cantatas
Choral Music
Orchestrated Songs, Vol. 1
Orchestrated Songs, Vol. 2
Songs & Waltzes
Words of Michelangelo
Stage & Film Music
Ballet Suites
Cheryomushki
Dance Album
Film Album
Jazz Album
Film Music, Vol. 1
Film Music, Vol. 2
Film Music, Vol. 3
Bedbug & Love and Hate
Fall of Berlin & Zoya
Gadfly & HM
Girlfriends
Hypothetically Murdered
Lady & the Hooligan
Limpid Stream
New Babylon
Orchestral Music