Dmitri Shostakovich: a work of virtuosity or a profitable misfortune?

Abstract

Dmitri Shostakovich was one of the greatest composers of 20th century, famous for his piano and violin compositions. One of the compositions, the 5th symphony, is arguably his greatest work, which brought him back to the grace of the Soviet authorities in a moment of a political crisis in Russia. Among the experts, there is a theory which supports that Shostakovich’s talent was due to a traumatic brain injury involving a shrapnel. Moreover, he might have suffered from a neurodegenerative process throughout his life. In this paper, we intend to discuss these viewpoints.

RESUMEN

Dmitri Shostakovich fue uno de los más renombrados compositores del siglo XX, famoso por sus obras para violín y piano. Su Quinta Sinfonía, es para muchos su obra más importante. Esta pieza le trajo gran simpatía con las autoridades militares en un momento de crisis en la Unión Soviética. Entre opiniones de expertos, existe una teoría que postula que el talento de Shostakovich es secundario a un trauma craneoencefálico producido por herida de metralla. También se cree que pudo haber sufrido de un proceso neurodegenerativo. Nuestra intención en el presente artículo es discutir estos puntos de vista.

Keywords:

Neurology - Neurosurgery - Hallucinations - Brain Injuries, Traumatic - History - Music

Palabras clave:

Neurología - Neurocirugía - Alucinaciones - Lesiones Traumáticas del Encéfalo - Historia - Música

Authors’ contributions:

All the authors equally contributed and fully participated in the preparation of this paper. They have contributed substantially with the conception, and design of the work; drafted and critically revised the work for important intellectual content; approved the final version to be published; and agreed upon accountability for all aspects of the work, ensuring questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 12. Januar 2021

Angenommen: 07. April 2021

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
07. Juni 2023

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