March of the Soviet Militia

"March of the Soviet Militia"
by Dmitri Shostakovich
Shostakovich (center) in 1974 (photograph by Yuri Shcherbinin)
Opus139
ComposedOctober 1970
DedicationMikhail Zoshchenko (disputed)
Published1972
PublisherSovietsky kompozitor [ru]
Muzika
DSCH Publishers
Duration1 1/2–2 minutes
ScoringMilitary band
Premiere
DateNovember 10, 1970 (1970-11-10)
LocationHouse of the Unions
Moscow, Russian SFSR
ConductorNikolai Zolotaryov
PerformersExemplary Orchestra of the Office of the Kremlin Commandant

The "March of the Soviet Militia" (Russian: Марш советской милиции, romanized: Marsh sovietskoy militsii), Op. 139 is a march for military band composed in 1970 by Dmitri Shostakovich.

History

Shostakovich composed the "March of the Soviet Militia" in October 1970 at the request of Nikolai Shchelokov, then Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR. Sources disagree about whether the work bears a dedication. According to Maxim Shostakovich,[1] Pauline Fairclough,[2] and Derek C. Hulme, Shostakovich dedicated the work to his deceased friend, writer and satirist Mikhail Zoshchenko.[3] The editor for the new collected works edition of the score, however, states that the score has no dedication.[1]

The work was published by Sovietsky kompozitor [ru], Muzika, and DSCH Publishers in 1972, 1978, and 2006 respectively.[3] It is Shostakovich's final ceremonial work for the Soviet government.[2]

Music

The tempo for "March of the Soviet Militia" is marked "Allegretto."[3] The band consists of the following instruments:

A typical performance takes approximately 1 1/2[3]–2 minutes.[1]

Premiere and reception

The "March of the Soviet Militia" was premiered at the House of the Unions in Moscow on November 10, 1970.[4] It was the featured work at an evening ceremony celebrating Soviet Militia Day. The work was premiered by the Exemplary Orchestra of the Office of the Kremlin Commandant conducted by Nikolai Zolotaryov; they also made its first recording in 1971 for Melodiya.[3] It won first prize at the All-Union Competition for the Best Literary, Artistic, and Musical Work About Internal Affairs Staff.[5]

Shostakovich biographer and researcher Levon Akopyan [ru] listed "March of the Soviet Militia" as one of the composer's "manifestations of conformity" about which it was "better not to remember."[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Dmitri Shostakovich (PDF). Hamburg: Sikorski Musikverlage Hamburg. 2011. p. 210. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Fairclough 2008, p. 283.
  3. ^ a b c d e Hulme 2010, p. 536.
  4. ^ Fay 2000, p. 270.
  5. ^ Khentova 1985, p. 619.
  6. ^ Akopyan 2018, p. 565.

Sources

  • Akopyan, Levon (2018). Феномен Дмитрия Шостаковича (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Издательство Русской христианской гуманитарной академии. ISBN 978-5-88812-851-0.
  • Fairclough, Pauline (2008). "Slava! The 'official compositions'". In Fairclough, Pauline; Fanning, David (eds.). The Cambridge Companion to Shostakovich. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-60315-7.
  • Fay, Laurel (2000). Shostakovich: A Life. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513438-9.
  • Hulme, Derek C. (2010). Dmitri Shostakovich: The First Hundred Years and Beyond. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810872646.
  • Khentova, Sofia (1985). Шостакович. Жизнь и творчество, Т. 2 (in Russian). Moscow: Советский композитор.