View source for Scherzo in F-sharp minor (Shostakovich)

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{{Short description|Piece for orchestra by Dmitri Shostakovich}}{{Infobox composition
| name                = Scherzo in F-sharp minor
| composer            = [[Dmitri Shostakovich]]
| opus                = 1
| year                = 1921 or 1922
| composed            = [[Petrograd Conservatory]]
| dedication          = [[Maximilian Steinberg]]
| duration            = 5 minutes
| scoring             = Orchestra
}}
'''Scherzo in F-sharp minor''' ([[Opus number|Op.]] 1) is a piece for orchestra written by [[Dmitri Shostakovich]] (1906–1975). Shostakovich was a Russian composer and pianist during the Soviet era. It was most likely written in 1921 or 1922 while Shostakovich was studying at the [[Petrograd Conservatory]] under [[Maximilian Steinberg]]. The composition is one of the composer's earliest surviving works. Originally written as a single movement of a [[piano sonata]], the Scherzo was later orchestrated with assistance from Steinberg and became an orchestral work in its own right.
The British premiere of the composition was played by the [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]] conducted by [[Mark Elder]] in 1996. It consists of a [[scherzo]] section, a [[Trio (musical form)|trio]], and a [[Sonata form|retransition]] which leads back to the scherzo theme. The piece has been described as aligning with the [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov|Rimsky-Korsakov]] school. A theme from the Scherzo in [[F-sharp minor]] was used by Shostakovich in the 'Clockwork Doll' movement from his collection of piano pieces, ''[[Children's Notebook]]'' (Op. 69 No. 6).
== Background ==
The Scherzo in [[F-sharp minor]] is one of the few surviving examples of Dmitri Shostakovich's early works,{{Sfn|Wilson|1994|pp=32–33}} along with five of his Eight Preludes for piano.{{Sfn|Fairclough|2019}} It is commonly dated as being written during the autumn or early winter months of 1919, the composer's first year at the [[Saint Petersburg Conservatory|Petrograd Conservatory]] (now the Saint Petersburg Conservatory), when he was aged 13.{{Sfn|Hulme|2002|p=12}}{{Sfn|Digonskaya|2010|p=53}} Multiple dates, however, are recorded: the Scherzo is recorded as being written in 1920 in a compilation of works entitled 'A description of the life of Dmitriy Shostakovich' (1926); another compilation entitled 'List of Shostakovich's works' (1927) dates the Scherzo as 1919–1920; Shostakovich himself cited the Scherzo's date of composition as 1919 in subsequent lists of his works.{{Sfn|Digonskaya|2010|p=68-69}} The musicologist Ol'ga Digonskaya, however, writes that it is most likely that the piece was composed in late 1921 or early 1922 when Shostakovich was almost 15.{{Sfn|Digonskaya|2010|p=63}}{{Sfn|Digonskaya|2010|p=68}} Following Digonskaya's discovery, this generally remains the accepted date of composition.{{Sfn|Fanning|2013|p=75}}
In his first or second year at the Conservatory, Shostakovich began composing a Piano Sonata in [[B minor]].{{Sfn|Digonskaya|2010|p=59}}{{Sfn|Fanning|2013|p=75}} The third movement—the only surviving movement of the work—was later orchestrated and became the Scherzo in F-sharp minor.{{Sfn|Digonskaya|2010|p=53}} Shostakovich dedicated the piece to his composition teacher [[Maximilian Steinberg]], who had taught Shostakovich at the Conservatory and encouraged both academic and aesthetic musical appreciation.{{Sfn|Hulme|2002|p=12}}{{Sfn|Fay|2000|p=19}} Steinberg also assisted Shostakovich with the Scherzo's orchestration.{{Sfn|Fairclough|2019}}
== Form ==
Scherzo in F-sharp minor is written for an orchestra similar in size and composition to those used by [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]] and [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]].{{Sfn|Cunningham|2018}} The piece is scored for [[piccolo]], two flutes, two [[Oboe|oboes]], two [[Clarinet in A|A clarinets]], two [[Bassoon|bassoons]], four [[French horn|horns]], two [[Trumpet|trumpets]], three [[Trombone|trombones]], tuba, [[timpani]], [[triangle]], [[Cymbal|cymbals]], [[bass drum]], and [[String section|strings]].{{Sfn|Hulme|2002|p=12}} The score is separated into three sections titled 'Allegretto', 'Meno mosso', and 'Tempo I' and lasts for approximately 5 minutes.{{Sfn|Hulme|2002|p=12}}
The themes introduced in the Scherzo are structured and handled [[Counterpoint|contrapuntally]]—which [[David Fanning (musicologist)|David Fanning]] writes is stylistically reminiscent of Steinberg.{{Sfn|Fanning|2013|p=75}} The piece begins with a [[scherzo]] section which introduces a main flute theme and a contrapuntal line played on [[pizzicato]] violins.{{Sfn|Fanning|2013|p=76}}{{Sfn|Cunningham|2018}} This counterpoint idea is repeated in varying forms—including [[Imitation (music)|imitations]] and [[Inversion (music)|inversions]]—throughout the Scherzo. The piece then comes to what Fanning calls a "lyrical" [[Trio (musical form)|trio]] section in [[D major]].{{Sfn|Fanning|2013|p=75}}{{Sfn|Cunningham|2018}} The music here is in a [[3/4 time|waltz metre]] and the themes are played in a two-against-three [[polyrhythm]], beginning in the strings and repeated in the woodwinds and french horns.{{Sfn|Fanning|2013|p=76}}{{Sfn|Cunningham|2018}} The trio is followed by a [[Sonata form#Development|retransition]], which incorporates elements of the flute and pizzicato violin counterpoint idea, and leads back to the scherzo section.{{Sfn|Fay|Fanning|2001}}{{Sfn|Fanning|2013|p=76}} Fanning writes that the retransition is "by some distance the most interesting structural initiative in the piece", as it acts as a "climax"—which a listener may have expected during the previous trio section—and a chance to develop thematic and textural ideas.{{Sfn|Fanning|2013|p=76}} The waltz theme is repeatedly stated in the brass section alongside the original scherzo contrapuntal theme from the opening.{{Sfn|Cunningham|2018}} A further combination of themes is heard is the final phrase of the piece.{{Sfn|Fanning|2013|p=76}}
== Reception and legacy ==
In late 1921 or early 1922, Shostakovich played the Scherzo in F-sharp minor on piano for the conductor [[Nikolai Malko]], who described it as "an excellent piece of course work by a talented pupil—no more than that".{{Sfn|Digonskaya|2010|p=63}} Malko was not as impressed by the Scherzo as he was by the composer's later [[Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich)|Symphony No. 1]] (1924–1925).{{Sfn|Digonskaya|2010|p=68}}
Laurel Fay and David Fanning describe the composition as resembling ballet music of Tchaikovsky and [[Léo Delibes|Delibes]], although its "flexible phrase structure" does not lend itself to dancing.{{Sfn|Fay|Fanning|2001}}{{Sfn|Fanning|2013|p=75}}{{Sfn|Fanning|2013|p=75}} Fay identifies that the work is stylistically aligned to the legacy of the [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov|Rimsky-Korsakov]] school.{{Sfn|Fay|2000|p=19}} Fanning writes that the professionalism of the music, particularly its orchestration, is less impressive following the discovery that the piece was written later than previously thought.{{Sfn|Fanning|2013|p=75}}
Shostakovich used the opening theme from the Scherzo in F-sharp minor in the 'Clockwork Doll' movement from his collection of piano pieces ''[[Children's Notebook]]'' (Op. 69 No. 6).{{Sfn|Fanning|2013|p=76}}{{Sfn|Hulme|2002|p=13}} Richard Louis Gillies writes that the Scherzo in F-sharp minor is the first instance of Shostakovich composing in this key, which would go on to be "of particular significance" to the composer; Gillies cites 'The City Sleeps' from ''[[Seven Romances on Poems by Alexander Blok]]'' and his Suite in F-sharp minor as two later examples.{{Sfn|Gillies|2021|p=57}} The British premiere of the Scherzo in F-sharp minor occurred on 17 February 1996 in the [[Royal Festival Hall]], London, performed by the [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]] conducted by [[Mark Elder]]. It was first broadcast on [[BBC Radio 3]] in May of the same year.{{Sfn|Hulme|2002|p=12}}
== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}
=== Works cited ===
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite web |last=Cunningham |first=Carl R. |date=2018 |title=Program Notes |url=https://uh.edu/kgmca/music/tmf/season-schedule/program-notes/2018/tmf-four.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118214442/https://uh.edu/kgmca/music/tmf/season-schedule/program-notes/2018/tmf-four.php |archive-date=18 January 2019 |access-date=11 June 2022 |website=[[University of Houston]]}}
* {{Cite book |last=Digonskaya |first=Ol'ga |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pi2jQFzXsAkC |title=Shostakovich Studies 2 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-521-11118-8 |editor-last=Fairclough |editor-first=Pauline |location=United Kingdom |chapter=Mitya Shostakovich's first opus (dating the Scherzo op. 1)}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fanning |first=David |title=The Cambridge Companion to Shostakovich |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-521-60315-7 |editor-last=Fairclough |editor-first=Pauline |location=United Kingdom |chapter=Paths to the First Symphony |editor-last2=Fanning |editor-first2=David}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fairclough |first=Pauline |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZwenDwAAQBAJ |title=Dmitry Shostakovich |publisher=[[Reaktion Books]] |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-78914-190-0 |location=United Kingdom}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fay |first=Laurel E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UbBAFDCmeEQC |title=Shostakovich : A Life |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-19-518251-4 |location=United Kingdom}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Fay |first1=Laurel |title=Shostakovich, Dmitry (Dmitriyevich) |last2=Fanning |first2=David |publisher=[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove Music Online]] |year=2001 |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.52560}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gillies |first=Richard Louis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b6pHEAAAQBAJ |title=Singing Soviet Stagnation: Vocal Cycles from the USSR, 1964–1985 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-000-48305-5 |location=United Kingdom}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hulme |first=Derek C. |url=https://archive.org/details/dmitrishostakovi0000hulm/page/n0/mode/2up |title=Dmitri Shostakovich : A Catalogue, Bibliography, and Discography |publisher=[[The Scarecrow Press]] |year=2002 |isbn=0-8108-4432-X |edition=Third |location=United States |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Elizabeth |url=https://archive.org/details/shostakovichlife0000wils/page/1/mode/2up |title=Shostakovich : a Life Remembered |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=1994 |isbn=0-691-02971-7 |location=Princeton, New Jersey |url-access=registration}}
{{refend}}
{{Shostakovich|state=collapsed}}
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<!-- Categories -->
[[Category:Compositions by Dmitri Shostakovich]]
[[Category:Compositions for symphony orchestra]]
[[Category:Scherzos|Shostakovich]]