Last stop: Russia!

10/24/11 • 5 min

In the furthest destination in our journey, we travel to Russia. Dmitri Shostakovich used his music to paint a picture of his war-torn homeland. His Symphony No. 10 recalls his memories of the tanks and soldiers, and he composed music that sounded as if you were living through a war. Examine what happens when sound changes its dynamic (from soft to loud--and from loud to louder) while listening to Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10. Our journey's not over yet!

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Next stop: England!

Everyone knows what it feels like to be sad, but what if you wanted to write music that expressed emotions without using words? On this stop in our tour, we’ll listen how Benjamin Britten used melodies sketched in his childhood notebooks to capture emotion in the “Sentimental Saraband” from his Simple Symphony. The final stop on out tour is Russia. Better bring a jacket!

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Listening Game

Arriving at the final stop on our tour, let’s look back at all the composers we’ve met and recall the music we’ve heard. In this episode, we’ll listen to excerpts from the concert program, and you will use what you learned about pitch, rhythm, mood and dynamics to tell us what you think each composer was trying to say. If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, please be sure to let us know, and try our other classical music podcasts, like Classical Music in America, or Beethoven Rocks!