THE STORY BEHIND: Shostakovich's "Festive Overture"

Title: Festive Overture, op.96

Composer: Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Last time performed by the Rhode Island Philharmonic: Last performed January 31, 2015 with Francisco Noya conducting. This piece is scored for piccolo, two flutes, three oboes, three clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion and strings.

The Story: While Shostakovich was most certainly a serious, introspective artist, this overture is evidence of his lighter, more exuberant side. Commissioned a scant three days before for a concert celebrating the anniversary of the October 1917 Revolution (Shostakovich, like Mozart was a fiendishly fast composer), there is something about the jubilant nature of the work that suggests it may also have been an unguarded outpouring of relief at the death of his nemesis, Joseph Stalin, one year earlier. Either way, it is a thrilling affair, full of fanfare and abandon. 

After an opening stentorian proclamation from the brass, the tempo abruptly changes to breakneck speed, featuring a main theme whose notes cascade in all directions. A lyrical second theme soon appears in the solo horn, followed by a pizzicato section in the strings that leads us back to the main theme. Once there, no holds are barred. Every musician on the stage makes a mad dash to the end and echoes of everything we’ve heard so far, including the opening fanfare, bounce energetically off the walls.

Program Notes by Jamie Allen © 2024 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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