Shostakovich, Dmitri Dmitrievich

views updated

Shostakovich, Dmitri Dmitrievich (1906–75) Russian composer. Shostakovich's use of contemporary western musical developments in his compositions did not conform with Soviet socialist realism. His opera The Lady Macbeth of the Mtsenk District (1934) received international acclaim but was later criticized in Pravda. Other works were deliberately more conventional. He composed 15 symphonies, 13 string quartets, ballets, concertos, piano music, film music, and vocal works.

http://www.classical.net

More From encyclopedia.com