Old Guard or Avant-garde Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Old Guard or Avant-garde - Research Paper Example My first favorite symphony by Dmitri Shostakovich is symphony No 7 which is commonly known as Leningrad. Shostakovich composed this masterpiece in 1941 and it was intended for the extremist Russian government. Shostakovich completed this song at the height of World War I and, therefore, his focus was on the issues happening to the society. Due to the rapidly changing lifestyles, Shostakovich was forced to adopt a musical style that would withstand changes in the society. The symphony can, therefore, be considered as avant-grade music. This consideration is based on the style and the issue addressed by the music. Unlike other music produced in that period, symphony No 7 addressed issues that were not common among musician. Initially, musicians sang about lifestyle issues such as love, happiness, sorrow and prosperity. However, Shostakovich introduced the aspect of musician being critical in the governance of a country. Unlike other musicians, Shostakovich became critical about Russian governance and the oppressive Nazi regime (FIS). All these issues are captured in the lyrics of this piece of music, which Shostakovich created using C sharp major. It was adopted both in the west and in Russia as a symbol for defiance against authoritarian regimes. Shostakovich demonstrated that musicians had a more significant role to play in the society other than been entertainers or philosophers of the society. Through the symphony, the composer demonstrated that artists were essential in influencing. the governance of their country. This is the first aspect that makes it to be classified as avant grade music. Other than the social responsibilities of the artist demonstrated through the symphony, the symphony also had additional stylistic and performance aspect that makes it to be considered as an avant grade creation. Before the creation of this piece of music, long performances were not popular. This resulted from the nature of this musical creation and the intended message contained in it. However, Leningrad is considered as a music peace that had the longest performance. It was unusual to have performance that exceeded thirty minutes. The Leningrad was an exceptional case since its first performance took about one and a half hour (Fay 213). Long performances became a popular trend in music produced after symphony No 7. The length of a musical performance was determined by the content of a piece of music. This piece of music introduced the aspect of creating music with rich