Dmitri Shostokovich (1906-1975) was one of the great composers of the 20th century, and arguably the greatest to emerge from the Soviet Union. His relationship with the Soviet government, especially Soviet premier Joseph Stalin, defined nearly every aspect of his life. He was born in St. Petersburg and grew up in the last years of tsarist rule in Russia. The Bolshevik revolution of 1917 came when Shostakovich was 11, but its influence stayed with him the rest of his life. His rise to fame came at the hands of an aid to Leon Trotsky, a father of the revolution. Shortly thereafter, Trotsky’s exile and the death of Vladimir Lenin left Stalin in charge, and he ruled with an iron fist and no patience for dissent or criticism of any kind. The arts were to reflect the official reality of Soviet existence, and thus “Formalist” works (that is, any work that displayed hints of modernism or abstract content) were at least frowned upon, if not banned outright. Shostakovich made something of a game of pushing as far towards this line as possible, sometimes even drifting past it. He was officially denounced by the regime twice, only to later rehabilitate his reputation through new, more apparently pro-Soviet works. At times the regime used him as a mouthpiece, and he seemed only too willing to comply. Yet his works often show signs of weariness or outright contempt for his government. His controversial memoir, Testimony, seems to confirm the notion that Shostakovich did not wish to support the Soviet regime. However, the memoir’s emergence 4 years after his death and the murky circumstances of its creation, not to mention its appearance at the height of the Cold War, all call into question its truthfulness. Still, Shostakovich undeniably made beautiful music, including 15 symphonies, an equal number of string quartets, large quantities of film music, and 2 operas which he held dear for his entire life.
Shostakovich wrote Festive Overture in 1954 on a commission for the Bolshoi Theatre’s celebration of the 37th anniversary of the October Revolution (in 1917). Shostakovich completed the piece in less than a week. It opens with an exuberant, rising fanfare which transitions to a spritely, lyrical main theme at a breakneck tempo. The overture speeds past, with a brief return to the fanfare figure before an energetic coda.
The original orchestral version:
The Hunsberger band version by the University of Michigan Symphony Band and Michael Haithcock.
Here’s a trumpet-only version: 8 trumpeters from Juilliard!
Festive Overture on Wikipedia, the LA Philharmonic, and Boosey & Hawkes.