All language subtitles for esgrdthfyghemyon Aranovich . Aleksandr Sokurov - Altovaya sonata

Leningrad Productions
of Documentary films LSDF

Dmitri Shostakovich
SONATA FOR VIOLA

Script:
Boris Dobrodeev

Directors: Semion Aranovich,
Alexander Sokurov

Camera: Yuri Alexandrov
Yuri Lebedev

Sound: Eugenia Belyaeva

Consultants: Kara Karaev,
Sofia Hentova, Mikhail Yakubov

Production supervisor:
Taissa Jansson

Production manager:
Jeanna Airapetiants

Materials from:

Central Archive of Cinema
and Photo Documents

Gosfilmofond of the USSR

The Leningrad Audiovisual
State Archive

Mikhail Glinka Museum

Leningrad State Museum
of Music and Theatre

Shostakovich Family Archive

Special thanks to

Irina and Galina Shostakovich,
Tamara Kholodilina,

Alisa Shebalina, Sofia Shirinskaya
and Dmitri Sollertinsky

The summer
of 1975...

...was
Dmitri Shostakovich's last.

He was living in his dacha,
finishing a sonata for viola.

His illness made
his suffering unbearable.

He could hardly
walk.

On July 3
the TV showed

a rehearsal of "The Nose".

40 years after its creation,
the opera was back on stage.

Perhaps it sounds false
because it's too slow?

- Perhaps.
- It may be the reason...

Oh, Lord!

It doesn't stick!
Ivan, Ivan!

At your service!

- Go there!
- Where?

To the doctor!

Go, tell him...

He never forgot
his parents' home

in Petrograd,

with grief for his father,
who died early;

warmth
for his mother,

and sisters,
who invented all their games,

and dressed him
like a girl.

But his frailty
hid a strong will.

He inherited not only
his father's delicacy,

but also his
love of hard work.

And his mother's,
forcefulness,

her character.

He was born in this city
in 1906,

and had lived
half of his life here,

35 years.

In the summer of 1919,

Sofia Shostakovich brought
her son to the Conservatory.

He was 13.

Alexander Glazunov,
the Director,

first discovered
the boy's exceptional talent,

of Mozart-like
strength.

Later,
when Dmitri caught

tuberculosis
of the lymph glands,

Glazunov mourned:

"His death would be
an irreparable loss

to music."

Shostakovich successfully
graduated from two faculties:

Piano
and composition.

It wasn't easy:

He was 16,
when his father died.

He played the piano
in cinemas.

Improvising for the screen
was where he created his music.

Soon its novelty was to take
everyone by surprise.

Give me vodka!

Cheers!
This vodka's bitter!

It's good!
It's bitter!

Who is brighter
than the sun...

in the sky?

Who shines brighter...

...than the sun...

...in the sky?

"I had to work a lot
in cinemas.

All that greatly damaged
my health and nerves.

Now I don't bow
to anyone.

Even in the worst
poverty,

I won't go
to the cinema.

The mechanical illustration
of human passion

is too tiresome.

If ever I succeed
in earning a living,

I will work relentlessly
in the field of music,

and will give it
my life.

Now I need a summer break
to recover my health."

Nina Varzar,
a student in physics.

They lived in the same town,
but weren't yet acquainted.

It's in the future.

"On May 12, 1926
in the Philharmonic Hall,

Nikolas Malko conducted...

...my First Symphony,
to much applause."

Among those
applauding the composer,

was
Alexander Glazunov.

The conductor, Nikolas Malko,
confessed:

"I feel I have opened
a new page

in the history
of music.

Here is a new
great composer."

"In 1921, I met
Ivan Ivanovich Sollertinsky.

I knew at once he was
quite out of the ordinary,

and not easy
to get along with.

But we became
friends.

He made me love music,
as they say,

- Bach
to Offenbach -

...since then,
I like all music,

provided it's genuine."

It was the first generation
of Soviet musicians.

One day, works
by Shebalin and Shostakovich

were performed together.

Though the public preferred Shebalin,
they became friends.

Their friendship was
to undergo severe ordeals.

In 1927

Shostakovich
got an invitation

for the first Chopin
Piano Competition in Warsaw.

It was timely:

Shostakovich began to
have doubts about composing.

He saw himself
as a pianist.

The Polish press
singled out Shostakovich,

his simple, natural and noble
reading of Chopin.

The winners
were named.

The First Prize:

Lev Oborin.

Shostakovich got only
a special mention.

"I deem it my duty
to counter the muddy stream

of pornography,

poured
onto the general public

as an excuse
for greater accessibility.

I consider it my duty
to fight tasteless music."

In 1932, Shostakovich
married Nina Varzar.

He hesitated
a lot,

fearing that family life
would push music aside.

But Sollertinsky took them
to Detskoe Selo,

where their family life
began,

without any festivities,
any toasts...

They were
just happy.

"My dear man, why is there
so much goodness in the world?"

On July 5, 1975

he finished his sonata

and called the viola player
Druzhinin.

"Fedya!

I made an effort
and finished my sonata."

The sonata for viola
and piano,

"Altovaya Sonata",

became the only work
Shostakovich

was never to hear
performed.

In the late 1920's,

he wrote an opera
based on Gogol's "Nose".

The opera was shown

in the newly built
House of Culture in Leningrad.

Where is my nose,
where is it?

- I can't see it!
- Here it is!

After the show, opinions
were freely expressed.

A question:
"Will the opera be understood?"

Shostakovich:

"Judging from today's audience
yes, it will.

People applauded,
nobody hissed."

A question: "Why this form,
for what kind of public?"

"I live in the USSR,

"I work actively
for a public of

workers and peasants."

Stepanov,
People's Education:

"What's 'The Nose?'

"Where is the root
of bureaucracy?

When one thinks
only about one's nose.

This is our problem,
too.

This is why the opera
concerns us.

We should
get rid of our noses

and turn to the common cause."

Khokhlov:

"Many music-lovers
prefer beautiful arias.

Shostakovich does it
in a different way.

Art is difficult.

It requires attention
and an effort of will.

Art isn't like...

...lemonade in summer."

Ivanov,
Baltic Works:

"The composer
has almost been called a genius.

That's wrong.

Our judgements
should be more moderate.

Sollertinsky:

"I'll answer that reproach
of praise for the composer.

He mustn't be compared
to the average.

He is exceptional."

A genuine artist,

he understood
his times well.

He inevitably went beyond
personal subjects.

In getting to know
the world,

his talent acquired
its strength.

The Golden Age

An industrial exhibition
in a big capitalist town.

A Soviet football team
enters with modesty.

For an ad,
a boxing-glove maker

pits a black and a white boxer
against each other.

A swindle...

...allows the white boxer
to win.

Everyone is looking forward

to seeing Diva,
the famous dancer.

General delight.

Diva performs
an erotic dance,

making use of her charm
for political blackmail.

The head of the Soviet team
attracts her.

She invites him
to dance.

He refuses politely.

A Komsomol girl
unveils a fascist provocation.

Final dance
of solidarity

between the Western workers
and the Soviet team.

Shostakovich's
first ballet.

It failed,
like the following two.

Only time has shown
the author was not to blame.

Dawn greets us
with its freshness,

the river
with its wind.

My curly girl,
aren't you happy

to hear the merry
factory whistle?

Don't sleep, wake up,

the workshops are
a-ringing,

our country rises
with glory

to greet the new day.

Joy sings
without end,

its song rings out
to greet us,

people laugh,
greeting each other,

the sun rises
to greet them.

It is ardent and brave,

it gives me its vigour.

Our country rises
with glory

to meet its
new day.

On the night
of July 7, 1975

at Shostakovich's
no one slept.

He was having
a bad attack of asphyxia.

The next morning

he came down these stairs
to the dining-room.

He was ashamed
to be in pyjamas.

"I'm so unwell,"
he said.

He was taken
to hospital,

and X-rayed.

Writer Altmatov
called,

then doctor Elizarov.

On July 12, another X-ray.
Doctors to confer.

On July 13,
Shostakovich called home.

He gave his phone number
in the hospital: 140-94-06.

July 21: Situation unclear.
Waiting for doctors to confer.

A great human tragedy
gave birth

to great music
by Shostakovich.

Years later, the 7th Symphony
by Shostakovich

still reminds us
of the war.

The composer
of the Leningrad Symphony

was 35.

Evacuation train

We are Russian,
and we are proud of it.

Throughout today's
severe ordeals

we shall stand up
for our great Motherland,

we shall defend our immortal
culture and art!

Our people
will overcome!

Dear girls!

Our time has come.

You know well

that all,
young or old,

rise up to defend
our great Motherland.

I played a nurse
in "Friends at the Front".

Now it's time to be
one for real.

I've already joined
a medical unit.

Everything I did
in the film,

I will be doing
on the front,

I will be fighting
with all my strength,

regardless of my life,

and if needed,
I will give my life...

...to my Motherland,
as Zina Maslova did

in our film.

Girls,
the Motherland needs you!

Join medical units!

I'm sure all of you
will follow my example.

Dear friends!
There will be a lot of work.

The work
will be hard.

But we'll win.

The Red Army will crush
the loathsome fascist gang,

and we, girls,
will help it.

Down with fascism!

Long live our beloved
Red Army!

Long live
our Communist Party!

No to fascism!

Long live comrade Stalin!
Hurrah!

History trusted

us contemporaries
of this great battle

to express
the ideals

of humanity's struggle
against fascism.

To fire up the hatred
towards fascism,

to show, by means of art,
its true image,

to inspire
our men, -

this is what our work
should be aimed at.

There isn't any task

worthier than this.

So let our hearts turn

to the war
against the enslavers,

like the hearts of millions
throughout this world.

Let "Everything for the front!"

Be the goal of all
our creativity.

Our day will come
very soon.

So let us be worthy
of such a day.

May everyone,
when the war's over,

and happiness
returns,

say proudly
that his war-time work

against
bloody fascism, was

for our radiant future.

Ivan Sollertinsky,

then
in Novosibirsk,

got the 7th Symphony
performed there,

after Kuibyshev
and Moscow.

It was conducted by
Evgeny Mravinsky.

Despite serious
heart disease,

Sollertinsky spoke
before each performance.

In 1941, they were about
to celebrate

20 years
of friendship.

War separated them.

The war
was changing.

People felt
the approach of victory.

Shebalin called
Shostakovich in Kuibyshev.

He invited him to teach
at the Moscow Conservatory.

Shostakovich came
to Moscow.

He taught
at the Conservatory.

The Leningrad
Conservatory also

asked him to
teach composition.

In 1947,
Shostakovich began teaching

at the Conservatory
in Leningrad.

"Dear Vissarion!

It's been 20 years
since

we first met.

I thought about
that stretch of time,

and feel that

I ought to do
more for my country.

I began a quartet
for you.

I hope
you like it.

Once more, my congratulations,"
wrote Shostakovich to Shebalin.

While finishing
his 8th Symphony,

bad news came
on February

Ivan Sollertinsky had died.

"Dear Olga Panteleimonovna,

words cannot express
the grief

which overwhelmed me
at the news of Ivan's death.

He was my dearest,
my nearest friend.

I owe my progress
to him.

Life will be unbearably hard
without him.

We rarely met
in recent years.

But I was always happy
to think

that Ivan Ivanovich
was there.

We talked
of many things,

and of the inevitable
end that lay ahead,

of death.

We both feared
and loathed it.

We were fond of life,
but knew that...

...we would have
to leave it.

Ivan has left us
very prematurely.

He died,
I stayed alive.

We always kept
in mind

our near ones.

We thought about
our children,

and gave each other
the solemn promise

that if one of us died,

we'd help out
our bereaved near ones.

Dear
Olga Panteleimonovna,

if in any difficulty,

any hardship,
I pray you,

in the name of the memory
of Ivan Ivanovich,

do tell me
about it.

Kiss the children
for me.

Yours Shostakovich."

"In my work, there have been
many serious failings,

but throughout
my composing,

I've been thinking
of our people.

I try to be self-critical
of each of my works,

still,
with a few exceptions,

I like them.

Otherwise,
I wouldn't compose."

Artist

"While the Soviet people
were cultivating a musical ear

gradually developing
a sense of melody,

some of our composers
preferred false innovations,

crippling their music
with formalism,

depriving it of melody" -

alleged Asafiev.

"The 9th Symphony

- a thoughtless,
formal work -

is unworthy
of our musical culture."

The composer
Bely:

"In the 7th Symphony,
we felt a deep patriotic inspiration,

so we accepted it

and temporarily excused
Shostakovich

for the flaws
in his music.

But the 8th Symphony
made a stunning

yet also
repulsive impression.

He fell prey

to individualism.

He must overcome
the inequality of his work,

the withering influence
of formalism and naturalism."

Dunaevsky:

"Our exaggerated consideration

and complacency,

after
his 5th Symphony,

made us declare Shostakovich
a true Socialist realist.

We didn't want to wait

for his work
to provide proof of this.

His formalism is tenacious.

The dead seize the living."

"The country is being rebuilt.

We read about
heroic deeds in factories

and fields.

Ask these people,
- wrote composer Zakharov,

are they really so fond
of the 8th and 9th Symphonies,

as our press
pretends?

To lead people,
one must speak

a language
they understand.

In Leningrad,
the dying

asked for
folk music,

not the 7th Symphony.

We must say
openly:

Our symphonic music
has come to a standstill."

"One cannot say
all our composers

write only cacophonic
or disharmonic music.

It's debatable.

Perhaps to some
it was difficult," -

Shebalin, head
of the Moscow Conservatory.

"The teaching staff
of the Leningrad Conservatory

have bad tendencies", -

said professor Serebriakov.

"As a result,
we find in our students

little Shostakoviches
and little Prokofievs."

"Decree n� 154
of the Leningrad Conservatory.

Due to the new rules
for music education

concerning staff,

from September 1, 1948 on,

Professor Shostakovich D. D.
must leave his position,

as he holds

another
at the Moscow Conservatory."

The Motherland hears,

the Motherland knows,

She watches him...

...breaking through
the thunder-clouds.

For however long
the dark storm rages,

no matter
what happens,

The first
Soviet composers

were now mature.

Shostakovich's birthday
celebrated

all our music.

Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich
turned 50.

During those years,
Dmitri and Nina Shostakovich

were often separated
from each other.

Nina spent months
in Armenia,

at the remote
Aragats laboratory.

There she suddenly fell ill.
Dmitri came at once.

He worried that
with an open window

she might
catch a cold.

He didn't know
she was dead.

No one knew
how to tell him.

He wasn't to know then
that 21 years later

their tombs would be
side by side.

The best conductors
felt the happiness

of interpreting
Shostakovich.

His music is reborn
with every concert,

like here

with the finale of
the 5th Symphony,

by Mravinsky
and by Bernstein.

1958.

Together with other
Soviet artists,

Dmitri Shostakovich
goes

to receive his
Lenin Prize.

He was nominated
the year before,

but he convinced
everyone

that the first Soviet composer
to get this prize

should be
Sergei Prokofiev.

In 1957,
Sergei Prokofiev received...

...the Lenin Prize
posthumously.

A year later, Shostakovich himself
was awarded the Prize.

Shostakovich was preparing
for a tour in France.

His 1st piano concerto

was part of the programme.

He came to Paris.

The concert
and a recording

were being
prepared.

At the last rehearsal,
he suddenly felt

his right hand
go weak.

This terrible illness,
weakness of the limbs

and fear
of moving -

was developing,
but no one...

...knew its origin.

The concerto he
used to play brilliantly

had not been done
in Paris.

"If my work
is going well,

I compose almost

morning to night.

Perhaps
it's the wrong method.

I write very quickly,
this could be a problem, too.

I want my music always
to reach the public.

Sometimes
it works immediately,

Time was taking its
toll on his friends.

Shebalin died.

That's that.
Thanks.

We'll see tonight...

After one more
heart attack,

Shostakovich
stayed in his dacha.

He couldn't attend
David Oistrakh's

performance
of his violin concerto

but heard
a recording.

Oistrakh called
Shostakovich,

wanting to know
his opinion.

He taped
their conversation.

- Hallo! - Dmitri!
- Yes.

- Oh, it's you, David.
- Am I disturbing you?

Can you call
in

I'm afraid
I shall be gone by then.

Will you?
Then I'll tell you right now.

Let me tell you now.
- No, I can wait.

Anna Akhmatova
came to visit him.

It was their
last meeting.

They spoke
at length.

She liked
his music.

He liked
her poems.

These verses of hers
speak of his music:

A wonder
burns in it

as its facets
take shape.

It keeps speaking
to me

when others
fear to come close.

When the last friend
turned away

it was with me
in my grave,

and sang as
a spring thunderstorm,

as if all flowers
were to talk.

Up this staircase
at the back

he was physically carried
into the Chamber Theatre,

for the premiere of "The Nose",
before the performance began.

He didn't want others
to see his physical weakness.

The opera performed again

40 years
after its creation.

Irina Antonovna
Shostakovich.

She became the wife
of Dmitri Dmitrievich

in 1962.

Till the end of his life,
she remained

his most devoted
and faithful companion.

Here it is!
Here it is!

My nose, indeed!

My nose is in its place,
between my two cheeks!

Ivan! Ivan!

Yes, master!

Look here,
Ivan.

I believe I've got a pimple
on my nose.

Bother!
Ivan might say,

not only the pimple,
the nose itself isn't there!

You've nothing!

No pimple at all!
Your nose is clean!

It's good!
It's damned good!

August 6, 1975.

A heart attack?

August 8: The attack
is not confirmed.

On August 9
he improved.

He asked his wife to read him
a story by Chekhov,

his favourite one,
"Gusev".

"It seems someone has come,
voices are heard in the ward.

Five minutes later,
all calms down.

"It's hard, - says Gusev.

I'll go on deck.

For God's sake,
bring me up to the deck."

"All right,
- says a soldier.

I'll carry you.
Hold onto my neck."

They stand
at the edge,

silently looking up
and then down.

Above them, the deep sky,
radiant stars,

calm and silence.

Nobody knows why
waves make noise.

Each wave,
as you watch it,

tries
to rise higher,

pressing and driving
the other,

its mane glowing with white.

A third wave
overrides them all,

severe and ugly.

The sea has neither
sense...

...nor compassion."

In the afternoon, Shostakovich
persuaded his wife

to bring the mail
from home.

She wouldn't.

He insisted.

At 6 o'clock,
an asphyxia began.

At 6h30,

he was no more.

- Hallo! - Dmitri!
- Yes.

- Oh, it's you, David.
- Am I disturbing you?

- Can you call
in 10 minutes?

- I'm afraid
I shall be gone by then.

- Will you?
- Then I'll tell you right now.

I'll tell you now.

- I can call
in...

- No, better now.
- Please wait.

I'll take my score.
- I will take mine, too.

Page 88?
- No, page 96.

- Page 96?
- At the 68th.

Yes, I have it.
It's fast, isn't it?

Mitya, what is your tempo
for the start there?

Now that's a bit fast
for the finale.

Good. Now tell me,
my dear...

...would you keep the adagio
in the 3rd part?

No, you're right.

What
would you put?

We should find the term
for that tempo.

For the 67th, the French horns,
your tempo is good.

- Hard?
- Hard...

Like this.

And then,
like that.

- Perhaps a bit.
- A bit.

Otherwise it's
too much.

But to be sure,
you know,

it's the most
magnificent interpretation.

I have a silly compliment
for you,

it was as if I
were playing it.

I'm very happy
to hear it.

Even the unmentioned
ritenuto,

the unmentioned
accelerando...

When it's published,
you'd better mention them.

These nuances
are so understated...

When can we speak?

I'll be at the Conservatory
from ten to five.

Tamara will be at home.
- I'll call around nine.

Thank you so much.
Kisses.

Thanks a lot.
We'll speak tomorrow.

All right.
Good-bye.

Subtitles: Alexei Jankowski,
Susanna Scott

� LSDF 1981