The Effects of the Second World War on Soviet Classical Music
The hardships World War II brought to the Soviet Union affected the working conditions of musicians and led to a decline in musical activity, forcing many composers to contend with the effects of the war. On the other hand, the conditions the war created also caused many composers to compose works t...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Istanbul University Press
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Konservatoryum |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/BEB9472669CD49F581862E0764EFFE57 |
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| Summary: | The hardships World War II brought to the Soviet Union affected the working conditions of musicians and led to a decline in musical activity, forcing many composers to contend with the effects of the war. On the other hand, the conditions the war created also caused many composers to compose works that involved the destruction of war and people’s suffering and victories. One of the best examples of this is Dmitri Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony, also known as the Leningrad Symphony, which he composed during the siege of Leningrad and is considered to be a musical reflection of the difficult conditions that were experienced. Sergei Prokofiev’s War Sonatas deal with the themes of the destructiveness of war, human drama, and the loss of human values between the conflicting parties and are among the works cited as an example. The research discusses the events that developed in Soviet Russia between the October Revolution to the post-war period by making an introduction to World War II. At the same time, the article explains the lives and works of two important composers of Soviet Russia, Prokofiev and Shostakovich, and mentions their lives and compositions during the war. Two objectives of this research are to eliminate the lack of information in the literature about the contributions of classical music and its use in World War II and to provide information about the subject by examining the perspectives of governments on music at that time. |
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| ISSN: | 2618-5695 |