Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich is my favorite classical composer. His works are what made me so passionate about (neo)classical music. I love his powerful and outright awe-inspiring (and oftentimes spooky) themes and motifs. Historically speaking, he, along with some other Russian composers (like Prokofiev), were accused of writing "inappropriate" music (music that actually portrayed the suffering of the Revolution). This especially angered Stalin, the USSR's dictator at the time. Shostakovich did not want his music to become a tool for the state, so he kept on writing his way. Of course, Stalin had a reputation for eliminating people he did not like, so Shostakovich did try to keep a low profile by writing music for films. Stalin's death in 1953 was probably the biggest relief for Shostakovich. His 10th symphony is all about Stalin and his regime, including even a full musical portrait of him in the second movement. Shostakovich was finally able to write freely, and he did so until his death in 1975.

My favorite composition by Shostakovich is his 7th "Leningrad" Symphony. There are tons of hidden messages in this symphony (a characteristic of Shostakovich's Stalin-era works). As Mark Wigglesworth said, Shostakovich's 7th is "not about Hitler sieging Leningrad...", though, that is what Shostakovich wanted Stalin to believe, "...It's about the Leningrad that Stalin destroyed and that Hitler merely finished off".

My Music Adventure

I started learning to play the violin by myself at age 13.

Besides playing the violin, I also like to write my own music (see "My Works" below). For this reason, I'm also learning to play the piano (I think it's an easier instrument to improvise on, mostly because its more polyphonic than the violin, which helps with writing music for larger ensembles).

My Works

I upload some of my works and recordings to my YouTube channel.