Runtime: Approx. 6 minutes

When thinking about the life and music of Dmitri Shostakovich, the predominant narrative that comes to mind is the composer’s tenuous relationship with the Soviet Union. Shostakovich spent much of his life skating on a razor’s edge of Stalin’s approval, a ledge that on one side meant artistic favor and on the other bore the probability of imprisonment or even death. Such a monumental burden offers dramatic insights into Shostakovich’s impetus, but it also produces a story so overwhelming that it somewhat overshadows the legacy of his talent. While he existed in a world of extreme and emotional circumstances, he was also a composer of uncommon technical skill—comparable to masters such as Bach and Mozart.

Composing his first symphony at the age of 19, he produced an enormous collection of works unmatched by his contemporaries. But the lore around his political life often results in an omission of his more human traits: humor, playfulness, the capacity to convey endless emotion, and formidable musical skill both as a pianist and composer. Festive Overture is a perfect example of such abilities.

The story surrounding the composition of the overture seems as if it could have been plucked from the cutting room floor of the film Amadeus. Shostakovich’s friend, Lev Lebedinsky was at the composer’s home with him when he was paid a surprise visit by a conductor from the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra. The conductor explained that they needed an overture for a celebration taking place in just three days’ time. “The speed with which he wrote,” recalls Lebedinsky, “was truly astounding. Moreover, when he wrote light music he was able to talk, make jokes, and compose simultaneously, like the legendary Mozart. He laughed and chuckled, and in the meanwhile work was under way and the music was being written down.”

Indeed, Festive Overture is laced with the kind of frenetic energy that conjures familiar images of the genius who has thrown back one too many espressos and refuses to leave their desk until the work is done.

After beginning with a stately brass fanfare, the strings set off immediately and the music continues to percolate until finally the brass retake the wheel for a final exclamation point. It’s a six-minute firework show that has become one of the composer’s most beloved works, even being used as the musical theme for the 1980 Moscow Olympics. And while the work was created in rapid fire, it is one of only two works that Shostakovich ever chose to conduct himself. Perhaps he didn’t think it was too shabby.

Valerie Sly 2024