The Five Fragments, Op. 42 is a suite for small orchestra composed on June 9, 1935, by Dmitri Shostakovich. It was the only work, apart from film music, that he composed that year. He approached it as preparatory work for the composition of the final version of his Symphony No. 4.
It was unperformed for 29 years after its completion, with Shostakovich indicating in 1941 that he felt it was not of sufficient quality to perform or publish. In the 1960s, he sent a photocopy of the score with his corrections and amended orchestration to Igor Blazhkov [uk], who conducted the world premiere on April 26, 1965, with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra.
Despite his initial reluctance to publicize the Five Fragments, Shostakovich expressed satisfaction with the music after its premiere. Edison Denisov praised the work's "chamber-like" scoring and said it deserved to be closely studied by composers.
Background
Shostakovich began to plan the work that ultimately became his Symphony No. 4 in 1931. By 1935, he had discarded the torso of a rough draft for a first movement and began to sketch out the new version of the work.[1] In an article published on April 11, he said that he wanted to compose chamber and instrumental music before he embarked on the "big job" of writing the final draft of the symphony.[2] Among the works he contemplated writing were a string quartet and violin sonata, but the only score he produced that year aside from film music was the Five Fragments.[3]
In a 1973 interview, Shostakovich confirmed that the music was intended as sketches for a larger work that he never embarked upon.[4] According to Laurel Fay and Marina Frolova-Walker,[5] the Five Fragments prefigured aspects of the Symphony No. 4, with the former calling them "preparatory work" for the larger piece.[3] He also described the work as his attempt to create an "instrumental equivalent" to the song cycles of Gustav Mahler.[6]
The Five Fragments was initially designated "Op. 43", but was later assigned Op. 42.[7] Despite being part of the Shostakovich work list, it was unperformed for 29 years. The composer indicated to Grigori Schneerson [ru] in a letter dated January 28, 1941, that he did not believe the work was of sufficient quality to be performed or published.[6]
It was not until the 1960s that Shostakovich expressed interest in publicizing the Five Fragments. He sent photocopies of some of his works from the 1930s to conductor Igor Blazhkov [uk], who was interested in his early music, and amended the orchestration in three places; the most notable being the doubling of the last chord's top note with a xylophone, the only time the instrument is used in the entire work.[6]
The holograph sketches and score, as well as a photocopy of the latter authorized by Shostakovich in the 1960s are held in his family archives in Moscow.[10] The sketch, which is damaged by two horizontal folds[11] and includes sketches for the Symphony No. 4,[10] is complete on a single sheet of 30-staff score paper, while the score is on 4 pages of 36-staff paper.[11]
Illness prevented Shostakovich from being able to attend the world premiere of the Five Fragments. In a letter to Blazhkov dated April 27, 1965, he informed the conductor that he was still sick and unable to travel to Leningrad, but that his daughter Galina would be visiting the city soon and to give her a copy of the in-house recording of the world premiere. He told his student Vladislav Uspensky [ru] on May 11 that he was "of course very glad" to have the work performed. On September 21, Shostakovich wrote to Blazhkov:[6]
Thank you ... for everything you are doing for me. I have listened to the recording of my [Five Fragments]. They were performed magnificently and in general I like these little pieces.[6]
Edison Denisov was an admirer of the work and said that it deserved to be closely studied by composers. He praised how Shostakovich used the orchestra "as the sum of different ensembles, individually chosen for each of the five pieces" to create a "chamber-like" sound.[8]
In a review for MusicWeb International of Mark Elder's recording of the Five Fragments with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Colin Clarke called the work "disturbing" and that it seemed to suggest that "Shostakovich is saying that this is what he really writes when he gets the chance".[15]
^Brown, Royal S. (October 1973). "An Interview With Shostakovich". High Fidelity. 23 (10): 88. Yes. [The Five Fragments] were intended as sketches for a larger work. But I was simply never able to undertake it.
^Frolova-Walker, Marina (2017). Musical discoveries. Pentatone. p. 8.
Shostakovich, Dmitri (2020). Ekimovsky, Viktor (ed.). Dmitri Shostakovich: New Collected Works. IInd Series: Orchestra Compositions. 31st Volume: Orchestral Compositions of Different Years. With a critical commentary on the history of the scores and explanatory notes on the holographs by Larisa Garver. Moscow: DSCH Publishers. ISMN 979-0-706427-52-2.
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