Shostakovich appreciationgrant_w_pollardAugust 1 2005, 01:47:36 UTC
Why? My guess is that he sort of falls into a number of cracks.
First: he's lumped with other Soviet composers, and the fall of the Soviet Union sort of relegates them to an out of the way corner of history now.
Second: performance programs typically go for mix of some old standbys with an avant garde one thrown in, and Shostakovich isn't seen as being avant garde in the way, say, that Schoenberg and Webern are. At the same time, he's not seen as "old standby" material either.
Third: not many younger people go for "serious" music anymore now, anyway.
Comments 1
First: he's lumped with other Soviet composers, and the fall of the Soviet Union sort of relegates them to an out of the way corner of history now.
Second: performance programs typically go for mix of some old standbys with an avant garde one thrown in, and Shostakovich isn't seen as being avant garde in the way, say, that Schoenberg and Webern are. At the same time, he's not seen as "old standby" material either.
Third: not many younger people go for "serious" music anymore now, anyway.
Just my $0.02.
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