Dmitri Shostakovich was a Russian composer who lived from 1906 to 1975. He wrote 15 symphonies and 15 string quartets, along with film music, concertos, and piano pieces for children. He spent his whole career in the Soviet Union, where the government told artists what kind of work it wanted. The best first piece for a child is the Waltz No. 2, a swaying tune for saxophone and orchestra.
Quick facts
- Born: 1906, in St. Petersburg, Russia
- Died: 1975, in Moscow, Russia
- Era: Modern
- Played: piano
- Known for: the Symphony No. 5, the “Leningrad” Symphony, the Waltz No. 2, and the Festive Overture
The life in short
Shostakovich’s mother was a pianist, and she gave him his first lessons when he was nine. He learned fast. At 13, he entered the conservatory in his home city.
His father died when Dmitri was 15. To help support the family, the teenager played the piano in movie theaters. Films had no sound then, and a pianist made up music to fit the pictures.
At 19, he finished his Symphony No. 1 as a graduation piece. Orchestras in Europe and the United States took it up, and he became famous.
In 1936, the country’s ruler, Joseph Stalin, went to see one of his operas and walked out. Two days later, the state newspaper attacked the opera. Performances stopped. Friends stayed away from him, and he feared arrest.
The next year, he wrote his Symphony No. 5. The audience wept and cheered for about half an hour, and his standing was restored.
In 1941, the German army surrounded his city, which was then called Leningrad. Shostakovich served as a volunteer firefighter and began his Symphony No. 7 while bombs fell. The next summer, an orchestra of hungry musicians played it inside the city, and loudspeakers carried it through the streets.
In 1948, the government attacked his music again. He lost his teaching jobs, and for some years he wrote film music to earn a living.
He loved soccer. He went to matches, kept notebooks of scores, and trained as a referee.
What the music sounds like
Shostakovich’s music can change in a moment from a joke to a cry. He liked marches, circus tunes, and waltzes with a sharp edge. His slow music is bare and sad.
He signed some pieces with his initials in notes: D, E flat, C, and B. In German note names, those spell D, S, C, H.
Four pieces to play first
Waltz No. 2. A saxophone plays a slow, swaying tune in a minor key. Then the whole orchestra takes it up.
Festive Overture. A trumpet fanfare, then a breathless race. He is said to have written it in three days.
Piano Concerto No. 2, second movement. A slow, simple melody for piano and strings. He composed the concerto for his son Maxim’s 19th birthday.
“Tahiti Trot.” A friend bet him that he could not arrange the popular song “Tea for Two” for orchestra, from memory, in under an hour. He did it with time to spare.
For piano students
Shostakovich wrote a set of seven easy pieces for his daughter Galina, called the Children’s Notebook. It includes a march, a waltz, “The Bear,” and “The Clockwork Doll.” Pieces from it appear on many exam lists.
Things to do together
Sway in three. Play the Waltz No. 2. Sway left on beat one and tap twice for beats two and three.
Wind up the doll. Play “The Clockwork Doll.” Move like a wind-up toy that slows down and stops.
Make a silent film. Play the Festive Overture with the sound of a cartoon turned off. Does the music fit?
Sign your name. Find the letters A to G in your child’s name. Play them on a piano as a secret signature.
Arrange a song. Ask your child how they would change “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” for a whole orchestra. Who plays the tune?
Music under pressure
The Soviet government wanted cheerful music that praised the state and was easy to follow. Composers who wrote something else could lose their work or worse. Listeners still argue about what Shostakovich meant in his loudest, most triumphant endings.
Print and play
Fill in a composer study notebook page for Shostakovich. Another Russian composer of his time, Prokofiev, has a page. For the music of his century, see modern classical music for kids.
For more composers from the same country, read Russian composers for kids. For more composers by era, see classical composers for kids.
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This article is part of Classical composers for kids: a guide by era, from Vivaldi to Britten.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.