He said: “The rejoicing is forced, created under threat. But in the finale, he composed music with trumpets and kettle drums in D major, the same key as Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the Ode to Joy! Near the end of the finale, Shostakovich indicated a metronome number that called for this music to be performed at half the normal sounding speed. His 5th Symphony depicts the murder and horrific realities of the times. Stalin wanted triumphant music that would glorify himself and the Soviet Union, but Shostakovich outsmarted him. He said to his friend Isaac Glickman: “Even if they cut off both my hands and I have to hold my pen in my teeth I shall go on writing music.” His 4th symphony was prohibited from being performed, and its world premiere took place 25 years after it was written. He expressed the terror, fear, and frustration of living in Stalinist Russia. Stalin wanted Soviet composers to write music that was joyful and optimistic. In 19 1.5 million people were arrested and 668,000 were killed, averaging 880 executions a day. His colleagues, patrons and members of his family were arrested and shot, including his brother-in-law, his mother-in-law and his uncle. Shostakovich’s friends kept disappearing. Stalin was responsible for the death of 30 million Russians.
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