"Every piece of music is a form of personal expression for its creator...If a work doesn’t express the composer’s own personal point of view, his own ideas, then it doesn’t, in my opinion, even deserve to be born."

--Shostakovich

"Chamber music demands of a composer the most impeccable technique and depth of thought. I don’t think I will be wrong if I say that composers sometimes hide their poverty-stricken ideas behind the brilliance of orchestral sound. The timbral riches which are at the disposal of the contemporary symphony orchestra are inaccessible to the small chamber ensemble. Thus, to write a chamber work is much harder than to write an orchestral one."

--Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich was born in St. Petersburg and died in Moscow. His long and vast musical career was spent within Russia’s communist system, and in many ways reflects a delicate balance between his own artistic inclinations and the demands of the Soviet state. His most important teacher, among many, was Alexander Glazunov. He studied piano and composition and graduated from the St. Petersburg (Petrograd) Conservatory at the age of 19 after composing his first symphony. Though this was an early success, his music didn’t always enjoy the approval of the Soviet authorities. His opera "The Nose" received serious criticism and his most important opera works. Thus, they represent the art of contemporary transcription. The three movements represent movements from the traditional Baroque Suite, even though they were not composed as a elegant and simple style of composition.

"Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District", received very negative criticism. His symphony No. 4 marked him as a rebel, and in order to be placed in the good graces of the government he composed his most famous work, his 5th symphony, as an apology to the state.

The music of Shostakovich is quite distinctive. It is based upon classical structures, yet his works do not follow strict classical forms. His work is also highly romantic and powerfully emotional, and his extreme use of parody and irony often reminds the listener of the music of Mahler, who borrowed much of his musical ideas from Viennese folk music. The composers who influenced Shostakovich come from a variety of periods. He greatly admired Bach, producing his own set of 24 preludes and fugues in every key for piano. Also, like Bach, he "signed" some moments of personal significance in his works with the initials DSCH in German music notation as Bach had previously done with the letters of his name, BACH. He was a great admirer of the works of Mahler, and one mannerism gleaned from Mahler was the use of martial sounds in his symphonies. He also learned much from his fellow composers, such as Glasunov and Prokofiev, and was a friend of Aram Katchaturian. He also became close friends with Benjamin Britten.

The memoirs of Shostakovich have been published under the title "Testimony" by his friend and musicologist, Solomon Volkov. These were said to have been related to Volkov and smuggled out of Russia to be published after the composer’s death. Originally the authenticity of these memoirs was questioned, but now they are generally accepted as genuine. They describe reminiscences from the composer’s life and interaction with friends, relatives, other artists and state politicians including Stalin.

The Three Duets for Violin and Piano on tonight’s program are works which have been specifically arranged for Violin and Piano from various orchestral works, songs and chamber cyclic work. Nonetheless, these works are wonderfully representatives of Shostakovich’s more