about composing.
He saw himself
as a pianist.
The Polish press
singled out Shostakovich,
his simple, natural and noble
reading of Chopin.
The winners
were named.
The First Prize:
Lev Oborin.
Shostakovich got only
a special mention.
"I deem it my duty
to counter the muddy stream
of pornography,
poured
onto the general public
as an excuse
for greater accessibility.
I consider it my duty
to fight tasteless music."
In 1932, Shostakovich
married Nina Varzar.
He hesitated
a lot,
fearing that family life
would push music aside.
But Sollertinsky took them
to Detskoe Selo,
where their family life
began,
without any festivities,
any toasts...
They were
just happy.
"My dear man, why is there
so much goodness in the world?"
On July 5, 1975
he finished his sonata
and called the viola player
Druzhinin.
"Fedya!
I made an effort
and finished my sonata."
The sonata for viola
and piano,
"Altovaya Sonata",
became the only work
Shostakovich
was never to hear
performed.
In the late 1920's,
he wrote an opera
based on Gogol's "Nose".
The opera was shown
in the newly built
House of Culture in Leningrad.
Where is my nose,
where is it?
- I can't see it!
- Here it is!
After the show, opinions
were freely expressed.
A question:
"Will the opera be understood?"
Shostakovich:
"Judging from today's audience
yes, it will.
People applauded,
nobody hissed."
A question: "Why this form,
for what kind of public?"
"I live in the USSR,
"I work actively
for a public of
workers and peasants."
Stepanov,
People's Education:
"What's 'The Nose?'
"Where is the root
of bureaucracy?
When one thinks
only about one's nose.
This is our problem,
too.
This is why the opera
concerns us.
We should
get rid of our noses
and turn to the common cause."
Khokhlov:
"Many music-lovers
prefer beautiful arias.
Shostakovich does it
in a different way.
Art is difficult.
It requires attention
and an effort of will.
Art isn't like...
...lemonade in summer."
Ivanov,
Baltic Works:
"The composer
has almost been called a genius.
That's wrong.
Our judgements
should be more moderate.
Sollertinsky:
"I'll answer that reproach
of praise for the composer.
He mustn't be compared
to the average.
He is exceptional."
A genuine artist,
he understood
his times well.
He inevitably went beyond
personal subjects.
In getting to know
the world,
his talent acquired
its strength.
The Golden Age
An industrial exhibition
in a big capitalist town.
A Soviet football team
enters with modesty.
For an ad,
a boxing-glove maker
pits a black and a white boxer
against each other.
A swindle...
...allows the white boxer
to win.
Everyone is looking forward
to seeing Diva,
the famous dancer.
General delight.
Diva performs
an erotic dance,
making use of her charm
for political blackmail.
The head of the Soviet team
attracts her.
She invites him
to dance.
He refuses politely.
A Komsomol girl
unveils a fascist provocation.
Final dance
of solidarity
between the Western workers
and the Soviet team.
Shostakovich's
first ballet.
It failed,
like the following two.
Only time has shown
the author was not to blame.
Dawn greets us
with its freshness,
the river
with its wind.
My curly girl,
aren't you happy
to hear the merry
factory whistle?
Don't sleep, wake up,
the workshops are
a-ringing,
our country rises
with glory
to greet the new day.
Joy sings
without end,
its song rings out
to greet us,
people laugh,
greeting each other,
the sun rises
to greet them.
It is ardent and brave,
it gives me its vigour.
Our country rises
with glory
to meet its
new day.
On the night
of July 7, 1975
at Shostakovich's
no one slept.
He was having
a bad attack of asphyxia.
The next morning
he came down these stairs
to the dining-room.
He was ashamed
to be in pyjamas.
"I'm so unwell,"
he said.
He was taken
to hospital,
and X-rayed.
Writer Altmatov
called,
then