He's talking about opera. He's opinion is that opera must be sung in the language of that nation where it is performed. He says that he's been in London and listened to an opera sung in Russian but he says that it sounded strange when English were trying to sing in Russian with English accent.
Alex Uturgaidze I understand that Francis Poulenc held the same view. His opera Dialogue des Carmélites was premièred in Italy, and so was sung in Italian.
He is basically said that in Germany they sing it in German, in France in French etc, in US though they insist on a language it was written in and that doesn't always come out right with the English accent, he listened to Kovanshchina and it has a very specific use of Russian laguage .and that with an accent just didn't sound right.
_I've got some immaculate Russian hypnosis videos (by one of the most eminent doctors in the world) that I could use translating for, if you're interested!_
Thank you for telling me. As I don't speak Russian, he might just as well have been giving a weather forecast. Why cant the idiots who post these videos include an English translation? Not your fault I appreciate.
I have listened to all of Shostakovich’s symphonies and know a few of them by heart. It would be an understatement to say I admire him. I believe him to be one of the most musically gifted people of the 20th century.
@@tchaikovskyfanboy2928 Interesting that you like 12, I actually don't know anyone other than you who likes the 12th symphony (including myself and Shostakovich himself). What exactly appeals to you about it? My favorite Shostakovich symphony movements are probably 8;1, 13;1, and 10;4
@@stephenwu1524 Wow it's been a while- let's get to it! Of course 11 is many people's go to Shostakovich excitment symphony- afterall it does feel like a proper 9th. And I do agree it is amazing- especially yhe 2nd mov, however I too believe it negatively overshadows the 12th symphony. The first movement always felt warm to me- an odd desciption I am sure to many, yet it feels normal and relatable. I love the dancing bassoon, violin, and flute/picc figures to the fairly quick initial buildup that will echo again somehow stronger throughout the work yet will remain contrasted with those warm, slow lines- which the second movement encapsulates perfectly. The third mov somewhat reminds me of Tchaik 4th III- the fun string pizzicatos! Yet unike Tchaik four, they are not followed up by immediate swooshing woodwind lines. Rather this area feels like a buildup to the climax which comes nearing the 4th symphony where the medlodies we have grown to call common somehow conform in one place which leads us to finally the fourth. The fourth feels like the answer we've been waiting for the whole time. It is definitely the mov I am the most familiar with. The violin to flute figure is iconic to my head- only dissatisfies me when the work is played too slowly. We are led through some discourse to nice brass solos to another huge buildup to then.. possibly another huge climax.. What what happened lol they stopped playing. That was just shostakovich toying with us it goes right back up. All the memories of playing the flute and piccolo part have come back after you reminded me of this work- thanks :). And while I love this symphony, I have to say, right now, I absolutely am infatuated with the 9th symphony. The history, the dryness, the fun! Specifically the 1st, 3rd, and final movements appeal most to me.
This is so interesting. Hearing Maestro Shostakovich speaking is quite amazing. He was definitely one of the greatest composers of modern classical music.
I'm so god damn tired of you idiots who know absolutely nothing of genuine politic and history yet feel pity for the great Shostakovich as if he needs it. Shostakovich wasn't oppressed or threatened in any way and all the concoctions from the propagandists in the US in no way embelish his great works with fear or depression. Stop sprouting nonsense and uninformed garbage.
@@snorefest1621 he smoked to get rid of his depression and anxiety, the fear of the gulag, and all that stuff. After all, he was like one of the only few Soviet composers not banished, and so he got to see all the others that did.
*TRANSLATION:* "My point of view is this: that opera should be performed in the language of the listeners. So if the opera is done in Berlin then in needs to be in German, if the opera is done in London then it should be sung in English, in Paris it needs to be sung in French... But there is another view point, especially in the United States, that the opera should be sung in the language that it was written. And recently, about two years ago, I was in London and was watching Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina in, maybe, my orchestral redaction. It was done and they were singing in Russian. They sang well, but of course.. and it was an older version of the language, not like now, and with a bit of English accent, it was a little bit..uh... [interviewer]: not it." Interesting point, thought I would definitely disagree. Perhaps from the perspective of a native speaker listening to his language's opera in a foreign land, the mistakes and accent would be too distracting to enjoy, but for the mostly native population that can't really tell the difference, hearing it in the original language would be unquestionably better. As is the case for most modern music that they try to translate for Western audiences, the original song will always be the preferred, even if the listener can't understand the lyrics. But opera is obviously a whole different animal since it's also theatre with a narrative.
I believe that the sounds of the words, and the natural poetry of various word juxtapositions, is intrinsic to the whole sound of the musical work. Besides, the music itself was written to fit with the poetry. Translations can rarely achieve the same marriage of music and words. Can you imagine Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde sung in English? It's not opera, but the same principle applies. If people choose to attend vocal classical music, in any of it's manifestations, can't they be bothered to at least find out the general meaning of the works? Imagine Schubert's lieder sung in English. No thanks. I think that Reginald Goodall's work in presenting Wagner's Ring in English was worthy of praise, certainly, but that sort of approach should be seen as the exception, rather than as normality.
Today we have screens and monitors that can immediately translate the verses and dialogues from the original language of the work to the native language of the theatre or concert hall in which the musical theatre called opera will be staged. I disagree with Mr Shostakovich stand. Imagine an Habanera of Carmen sung in German or Dutch? Horrendous. Rigoletto sung in Chinese? Ridiculous. Lets respect the language in which the composers wrote his work and that fits precisely with the intonation, vocalisation and melisms of such particular language.
@@alejandrosotomartin9720 A weak point in your argument is the fact you started with the word, "today." Shostakovich formulated this very opinion in 1975. I don't disagree with you, but I have a feeling Shostakovich's own opinion would be malleable had he been alive today.
@@NFStopsnuf That could be allowed at the time by the powerful and highly populated countries with a great artistic plan where their language was spoken by hundreds of millions of people. But what would happen to the less populated countries whose languages are spoken (and accordingly, sung) by less population? What career and future would exist for artists from smaller countries if Shostakovich's proposal were carried out in addition to the lack of consideration and sound and phonetic adaptation to the musical demands of the composer who wrote that work? Only powerful and highly populated countries could have artists with successful international careers. Forget Albanian tenors or Hungarian sopranos. That and the fact that listening to La Habanera in Dutch or La Donnna é mobile in Mandarin Chinese would be rude and ridiculous respectively.
What a horrible circumstance do you mean? He was treated kindly in every possible way and encouraged by the authorities during his lifetime. Hi is laureate of various state awards
@@homeofcreation Сталин так сильно хотел take his life, что аж 5 раз (!) вручал ему сталинскую премию, 2 раза - ленинскую и вообще допускал до самых ответственных вещей, вроде гимна СССР. Короче, хотел уморить его перееданием. Вот же кровавый тиран
It is so crazy to live in a time where stuff like this can be found online. Gosh, I wonder if Maxim looks up videos of his dad just to hear and see him again🥺
It's charming to see this footage, to hear his voice, see him speaking. He is unsmiling but not grim, he seems earnest but far from a fool. He seems self-sufficient.
What a tragedy this man passed through and lived through. Whenever I see one of his pictures I am amazed at the natural strength of his talent, of natural strength of his will to live and create. But at a huge cost of terror, fear, horror... If you see his interviews or film footage later in his life you could see a man that is constantly shaking, constantly at the edge, nervous, uneasy. This genius did not deserve that kind of treatment. His work up to his 4th symphony might have later taken different path if it wasn't for that paranoid power hungry mustachioed Georgian bank robber. I consider Shostakovich's 4th as one of his greatest achievements. And still it is a very hard piece to listen, hard for the ear and what is more - hard for the soul. At the coda you get absolutely wrecked and changed. Your life experience, your way of looking at things is changed. You just had a look into the soul of a man. And what a soul it is...
A glimpse into the ''different'' Shostakovich are his early works up to the 4th symphony, which I consider the greatest, and also 2nd piano concerto dedicated to his son Maxim. It is a world in itself. As a creative force and musical genius Shostakovich would produce masterpieces even without Stalin and Communist state. Same as Prokofiev who produced great works whether as a youth, whether as a young man in 1920's or whether as a mature man in USSR.
He was a true genius of a music. I have played all of his symphonies and arranged a lot of chamber music cause I can’t get enough of his music. When you were younger you played it just to solve extreme technical and other problems but when you get older you understand how sensitive and imaginative he was. I am so thankful Stalin let him live
I don’t speak Russian so can’t understand what is being said here. But I love his music and think he is a great composer. I love the music is enough. No other justification or explanation is required. He wrote great music.
+Willynn Mcl Schostakovish said, that opera must be performed on language of that country, where it is being performed - on english in London, on french in Paris, on german in Berlin etc.
To be more exact, He is basically talking about opera and the languages, that in Germany they sing it in German, in France in French etc, in US though they insist on a language it was written in and that doesn't always come out right with the English accent, he listened to Kovanshchina and it has a very specific use of Russian laguage .and that with an accent just didn't sound right.
Today, casts in the world's major opera companies in New York, Vienna, London, Paris, Berlin, Munich , Cologne, Milan and elsewhere are highly internationalized, so it's totally unrealistic to expect Italian singers to sing La Boheme and Tosca in English , French ones to sing Carmen and Faust in German, German singers to sing Wagner & Richard Strauss in Russian etc . Aspiring opera singers in conservatories are taught to sing different languages with a reasonably good accent and the international use of subtitles enables audiences to understand .
I love his music and he's kind of become my hero. I have a poster of him on my wall. It was a cheap poster I got of eBay years ago, but I actually went though the trouble of having it framed.
Странные у всех комментарии. Кто о гениальности,кто о своей любви к Шостаковичу. Наверное не все правильно перевели русскую речь композитора, а он высказался о том , что надо оперу исполнять на языке слушателя, а не композитора, то есть лучше петь в адаптированном художественном переводе на языке слушателя, чем в болшинстве своём слышать, как пытаются смешно коверкая слова повторить язык композитора.Повсемесно принятое поветрие петь на языке композитора не прибавляет ценности искусства оперы,опера не становится от этого ближе сердцу слушателя.Опера теряет искренность,так как певец не понимает,что поёт. Утрачивается непосредственность восприятия связки музыки и слова,а вместо этого торжествует на фоне такой мультикультурности дешёвый снобизм сомнительных элит.
15 symphonies, 15 quartets--all of the highest quality. Of the centuries half dozen greatest composers--most of them Russian--he was far and away the most prolific. I think that's why he never fled Russia--he was just so creative that he could lose himself in his work and block out a lot of the horror constantly going on. It took its toll, but he could still function. The quality of his compositions never wavered.
@@garrysmodsketches Well, yeah, early propaganda works he probably felt compelled to do--I never listen to them. Point is that even when old and sick, he still kept cranking out great works, some of his best in fact. I really like the dark, late, introspective stuff.
You can turn on subtitles and auto translate to English. It's quite fun, apparently he said (I kid you not) "You are the leader of arms Petka Dykanka German just cause Germont Ensure that the prohibitions English, in Paris it is necessary to drink it Dad dad, French"
He's talking about opera. He's opinion is that opera must be sung in the language of that land(nation) where the opera itself is sung. He says that he's been in London and listen to an opera sung in Russian but he says that it sound strange when English were trying to sing in Russian with English accent.
He is basically talking about operas and their languages, that in Germany they sing it in German, in France in French etc, in US though they insist on a language it was written in and that doesn't always come out right with the English accent, he listened to Kovanshchina and it has a very specific use of Russian laguage .and that with an accent just didn't sound right.
Thanks for sharing this document. If I had been granted the power to choose musical gifts, I would have chosen to have the professional knowledge of Béla Bartók, and the inner ear of Dmitry Shostakovich. Who knows, maybe I could translate what's going on in my mind into music.
I can't resist telling my latest opera story. I went to a performance of Semiramide at the Met in NYC. For giggles, I turned on the German translation in the seat-back monitor. Translating Italian love scenes into German is like reading a government transcription of a pornographic movie. It was hysterical. Perform those operas in the original language. Learn how to pronounce it correctly. That's what language coaches are for.
@wanderratte99 He expressed the opinion that any opera to be performed is not in the original language and the language of the country where it is played.
He says at the end that he watched a Russian opera in London. He said that the singing was good but their English accent when singing in Russian sound ridiculous. I speak very little Russian, but I was getting some of the jist of what he was saying
"My point is that the Opera should be performed in the language in which it is listened to. If an Opera is being staged in Berlin, it must be sung in German. If an Opera is being staged in London, it must be sung in English. In Paris, you must sing it in French. But there is another point of view, especially in the United States, that you should sing the Opera in the language in which it was written and relatively recently, two years ago I was in London and watched, watched Mussorgsky's "Khovanshchina" in my history of orchestral publication, it was staged and sung in Russian. They sang well, but still the Russian language is not like this, there is a little English accent. It's a little different"
Dear experts and connoisseurs of Soviet history! Who but you knows our history so well. After all, you lived in the Soviet Union under the nightmarish Stalin, which horrishly raised his country to the same level as the United States and European countries after revolution, freeing the world from fascist infection! Whoever knows, however you, that Shostakovich created his 7th Symphony to show Hitler that our people are great and not broken.Who but you know what our people had to endure during the terrible war against fascism, during the siege of Leningrad and the Battle of Stalingrad? Rejoice that our Soviet soldier liberated the world from Hitler and his successors. What would you talk about then?
"Now, in portughese" - "Meu ponto de vista é o seguinte: que a ópera deve ser apresentada na língua dos ouvintes. Então, se a ópera é feita em Berlim, então precisa ser em alemão, se a ópera é feita em Londres, então deve ser cantada em inglês , em Paris precisa ser cantada em francês ... Mas há outro ponto de vista, principalmente nos Estados Unidos, de que a ópera deveria ser cantada na língua em que foi escrita. E recentemente, cerca de dois anos atrás, eu estava em Londres e estava assistindo Khovanshchina de Mussorgsky em, talvez, minha redação orquestral. Foi feito e eles estavam cantando em russo. Eles cantaram bem, mas é claro ... e era uma versão mais antiga da língua, não como agora, e com um pouco de sotaque inglês, era um pouco .. uh ... [entrevistador]: não é. "
Он прав! К сожалению, некоторые мировые звёзды вокала очень разочаровывают, когда поют на чужом языке. А уж слушать иностранца, поющего по-русски, - это прямой путь к разочарованию на всю жизнь.
He is basically talking about opera and the languages, that in Germany they sing it in German, in France in French etc, in US though they insist on a language it was written in and that doesn't always come out right with the English accent, he listened to Kovanshchina and it has a very specific use of Russian laguage .and that with an accent just didn't sound right.
"My point is that the Opera should be performed in the language in which it is listened to. If an Opera is being staged in Berlin, it must be sung in German. If an Opera is being staged in London, it must be sung in English. In Paris, you must sing it in French. But there is another point of view, especially in the United States, that you should sing the Opera in the language in which it was written and relatively recently, two years ago I was in London and watched, watched Mussorgsky's "Khovanshchina" in my history of orchestral publication, it was staged and sung in Russian. They sang well, but still the Russian language is not like this, there is a little English accent. It's a little different"
@@jimcrawford5039, Russian etiquette establishes the rule to call older people/strangers (since a certain age)/slightly familiar ones/authorities as "you" (respectable form; basically plural of simple "you") or, if you are already presented to a man, as "name + patronymic". In this case, you would call him Dmitriy Dmitriyevich (his father is consider to be Dmitriy too, according to the patronymic of his son); besides the fact you will rather sustain the conversation in such manner, as you are talking with a group of people (plural all the way).
My question is, if Shostakovich suffered from censorship of his music and the threats he faced, why didn’t he leave Russia like Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev?
Who would have thought that this genius wrote such immortal music and suffered so much under Stalin? Stalin had a "tin ear" and even after attending a first performance of one of his greatest symphonies, he wanted Shostie "gone", but was outvoted by his associates. You have heard the story of Dmitri sleeping in a chair outside his apartment because he thought the KGB were coming for him and he didn't want to scare his wife and children. How could he write what he did and lived in fear for many, many years?
I've googled and googled and binged and binged, but I can't find out how tall Shostakovich was. I'm suspecting it was a state secret because he was kinda short and Stalin didn't want the world knowing that.
Это можно приблизительно установить по фотографиям. Смотрите фото: Шостакович, Рихтер и Ойстрах после исполнения скрипичной сонаты. Самый высокий Рихтер (выше 180 см.), на пару см ниже его Шостакович, и ещё на пару см ниже Ойстрах.
Dmitri and I agree on this point about opera. (But if his Lady Macbeth had been in, say, Italian rather than Russian, Stalin might have stayed off his ass!) Dmitri and I have similar tastes and musical minds and therefore talents. But seriously, he died later that year, right? Giant of music, the great Russian composer of the century after Stravinsky, and that's saying a lot.
Может быть, Вы и правы! Опера до момента запрещения довольно широко шла в театрах и была популярной. Судя по всему, публика не очень вслушивалась в слова (как это часто бывает с операми). Но вот кто-то из начальников прослушал текст и нашёл там просто неприличные выражения. С этого всё и началось. Но, по-моему, в итальянском тоже существует обсценная лексика?
Good point. Italian was sometimes risqué. I’ve never warmed up to this opera, but maybe I should listen again. I do love Shostakovich. @@user-vz4fy8uw9y
His idea that the vocal work has to be performed in the language of the local theater is shocking and it just shows the degree of the musical self-mutilation in order of the self-preservation back then in USSR. He had to say these things and act accordingly, the price paid is that his Suite on the poems of Michelangelo or Symphony 14 with poems by Lorca, Apollinaire, Rilke raise eyebrows today as to why would you compose to the translated text and not to the original. Very sad.
Его научил опыт И.Стравинского, который создал своего анти-сталинского "Царя Эдипа" на никому не понятном латинском языке. Получился выстрел в воздух. У Шостаковича наоборот - каждое слово понятно русскому человеку и точно бьёт в цель
Yes. He died not long after this and he did NOT look well. Dmitri wasn't completely correct on this point. His own operas....as well as most Russian operas, don't translate very easily to English. I've seen some American companies do English language BORIS GODUNOVS but most avoid Russian operas all together....
