Shostakovich 5
The first movement (section) of Shostakovich’s piece has four different moods within it. Your task is work out which mood Shostakovich is in by listening to the music and imagining his face as he wrote it.
1. Take a sheet of A4 paper and fold it in half and then in half again so that when you open it out, you have four sections. Draw an oval in each section (see the demo below). These oval shapes will represent Shostakovich’s face.
2. Listen and watch the opening of Shostakovich’s piece (stop at about 1’30). Remember, in a symphony the composer often expresses their true feelings so what is Shostakovich feeling here? Listen to the music - is it happy, sad, scary, angry or something else? The mood of the music is the mood of Shostakovich.
When you have decided on the mood, draw Shostakovich’s face in the first oval shape on your page. (i.e. if you think the mood of the music is happy, draw a happy face).
3. Scroll to 4’50 and listen until about 6’15. Decide on the mood and draw that mood on Shostakovich’s face in the second oval
4. Repeat this activity twice more listening to these two sections:
Mood 3: 10’15 – 12’00
Mood 4: 15’20 – end of Mvt 1
5. Shostakovich wore small, round glasses and had short, brown hair – can you add these features onto your drawings? You could also add a hat or costume if you think Shostakovich is doing something specific. Finally add one word underneath each picture to describe Shostakovich’s mood.
Click below for my demo, note that the timings I mention are a bit different, they refer to the LSO Play recording. Remember: THERE IS NO WRONG ANSWER - whatever you think is correct. No one really knows how Shostakovich was feeling or what he was describing.
For more on Shostakovich including a full teachers’ pack go to LSO Play (link below) and follow these steps:
Choose SHOSTAKOVICH
Go to MENU in top left corner
Select ‘downloads’
Download the pack!