Symphony No. 15 in A Major, Op. 141 (1971)

Weakened by a series of chronic illnesses and aware of his impending death, Shostakovich looks back on his life in Symphony No.15 in A major, op.141. The work opens with cheerful reminiscences from his youth, featuring quotations from his early works and allusions to Rossini. But already by the second movement, a funeral march rich with self-quotation, the mood changes. In the cantabile movement which follows, one hears the murmuring ghosts of the past. With echoes of Richard Wagner, the eerie finale ultimately instructs the listener to remain fearful through its crumbling tonality.

The first movement quotes the Allegro section from Gioachino Rossini’s ‘Guillaume Tell’ Overture. The ‘fate’ motive from Richard Wagner’s ‘Götterdämmerung’ and the melody of Mikhail Glinka’s song ‘Do not tempt me needlessly’ appear in the final movement. 

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Movements
1. Allegretto
2. Adagio – Largo – Adagio – Largo
3. Allegretto
4. Adagio – Allegretto – Adagio – Allegretto