This was written for an assignment to "Describe a short piece of music in 100-200 words". Yeah.... about that word count.... Anyways I was proud of what I wrote and thought it belonged here. I'm new to describing music but I really love to write about it so any tips or advice would be nice. Thanks!

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The piece I chose is the third movement from Shostakovich's fourth symphony. We are greeted by a very soft tune played on the bassoon that slowly builds until 3:00 where it is confidently proclaimed by the brass section. The tension and dissonance builds up to an unsure climax, before quickly dissipating into rocking strings where the fetus of a melody from his fifth symphony arises. At 6:25 a harsh, brutish dance breaks out with dissonant intervals in the strings and shrieking woodwinds. The pattern of two descending notes is hammered in until it gets tiring, and then is hammered in some more. The ceaseless barrage seemingly never ends. That is, until 8:45 where it thankfully quits and a new melody begins, building up to 9:20 where a naively triumphant theme is declared, albeit brief as it soon devolves into the lower strings and brass grinding to a halt.

An innocent melody appears in the woodwinds, flower blooming in a field of ash. At 11:15, the field is beginning to regrow with a quirky melody played gently by the flutes with ominous backing by the strings and harp. This theme is then traded to the string section, with a fantastic swell at 11:33 featuring a clarinet run. Shostakovich was a fan of the grotesque, and you can very much hear that at 11:45 with the pizzicato strings interrupting a sweet melody in the violins. This sweet melody becomes an almost scare at 12:00 with an accented note preceded by a run from the flute.

At 13:25 a seemingly sinister introduction dissolves into a whimsical bassoon melody. Folk-like strings fill in the gaps, making this seem like a village dance. The dance then transitions into a waltz, still in the woodwinds. We reach the beginning of the end at 17:40. Here the main themes for the climax, and subsequent slow death are established. Hear the low strings at 18:53? Keep them in mind as they form the basis of the climax coming up.

A seemingly unearned climax now arrives out of nothing! 19 minutes and 30 seconds in, the timpani announces the arrival of the end. Or is it? This dissonant brass chorale is a bit rushed in this recording in my opinion. I prefer the harsh chords to drag on, refusing to leave. The pure power displayed here is exhausting. Is this triumph? or is this bitter defeat? Raw emotion nonetheless. No sooner than it came, the climax is at its end. It's a painful 5-minute trudge to the end from here. The pedal tone is established. This will continue until the end. Fragments of melody, memories of a time before fade in and die out. The pedal tone changes to a dotted rhythm as the strings converse. Beautiful dissonances arise in the woodlands, smoothly resolving, not to joy, but to despair. The symphony began about an hour ago in a major key. C major to be exact. Here it will end in the minor. Opposite of the famously triumphant ending of Beethoven's fifth. A ghostly celesta chimes in, outlining the C minor triad in different octaves. This is where we will die. A familiar tune on a muted trumpet, announcing not our arrival, but our passing. Three ominous notes from the harp. One more, no two more extra notes from the celesta. An A and a D. This ending emotionally tears apart the listener. You feel exhausted and there are no tears left to cry.

It’s no wonder this symphony was barred from performance. In a country of "Socialist Realism" where every art piece has a purpose - to advance the Soviet Union through happy endings and joyful scenes - this piece does not belong. Luckily, the composer was able to see its premier, 36 years late, after the passing of Stalin. Stalin's death was not the end of Shostakovich's troubles however, there was still much yet for him to go through. I am not going to get into the full story of why this piece was withdrew as I have already written way too much, but if you are interested at all in the story of Shostakovich, I advise you to read "Shostakovich: A Life" by Laurel Fay (or "Symphony for the City of the Dead" by Matthew Anderson if you want an easier read and more background about his experience during World War II).