The Execution of Stepan Razin

1964 cantata by Dmitri Shostakovich

The Execution of Stepan Razin (Russian «Казнь Степана Разина») (Op. 119) is a cantata composed by Dimitri Shostakovich to a libretto by Yevgeny Yevtushenko in 1964. The subject is the execution of Stepan Razin, a Cossack leader who headed a major uprising (1670-71) against the nobility and tsarist bureaucracy in southern Russia.[1]

## Lyrics

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The opening section of Yevtushenko's poem depicts Razin's fate in front of the uncaring crowd:

> КАЗНЬ СТЕНЬКИ РАЗИНА : Как во стольной Москве белокаменной вор по улице бежит с булкой маковой. Не страшит его сегодня самосуд. Не до булок... Стеньку Разина везут! Царь бутылочку мальвазии выдаивает, перед зеркалом свейским прыщ выдавливает, Примеряет новый перстень-изумруд - и на площадь... Стеньку Разина везут!

> As the thief runs in Moscow's white-stone streets, with his poppy-seed bun, today's execution does not frighten him. Stenka Razin is led out! The tsar gives out a bottle of wine, squeezes his pimples in front of the mirror, tries on a new emerald ring. And to the square, Stenka Razin is led out!

In the middle section, Razin reflects on his fate: "Fool! Stenka, you die for nothing!" The final section describes the execution itself, in very short, choppy lines: the crowd falls silent, and Razin's head, still living - laughs his triumph over the watching tsar.

## Recordings

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* Shostakovich: Cantatas -- Estonian Concert Choir, ENSO Paavo Järvi Erato 2015.[2]
* The Execution of Stepan Razin -- Seattle Symphony Chorale, Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz: Naxos 2006.
* Symphony No. 12 and The Execution of Stepan Razin -- Rundfunkchor & Sinfonie-orchester Leipzig, Herbert Kegel: Philips 1992.
* Georgy Sviridov Oratorio Pathetique and Shostakovich The Execution of Stepan Razin -- Varna Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, Andrey Andreev (cond.) & Assen Vassilev (bass): Koch International Classics 1990.
* Symphony No. 9 and The Execution of Stepan Razin -- Moscow State Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra & Republican Russian Choir Capella, Kirill Kondrashin (cond.) & Vitali Gromadsky (bass): Melodiya 1965 (reissued as a CD in 2015 by High Definition Tape Transfers).

## See also

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* List of compositions by Dmitri Shostakovich

## References

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1. ^ Belcanto.ru article in Russian
2. ^ Wall Street Journal - May 12 2015 New Shostakovich Recordings Highlight Composer’s Ambiguity "Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi on why he was eager to perform Shostakovich works criticized for their apparent support for Stalin "

## External links

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* Russian libretto to Erato recording of Shostakovich Cantatas
* lyrics in Russian
* lyrics in Russian (alternative site)
* Index to texts of other poems set by Shostakovich

* v
* t
* e

Dmitri Shostakovich

List of compositions

Operas and operettas|

* The Nose
* Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District/Katerina Izmailova
* The Big Lightning (unfinished)
* Orango (unfinished)
* The Twelve Chairs (unfinished)
* Katyusha Maslova (unfinished)
* The Gamblers (unfinished)
* Moscow, Cheryomushki

Ballets|

* The Golden Age
* The Bolt
* The Limpid Stream

Symphonies|

* No. 1 in F minor
* No. 2 in B major (To October)
* No. 3 in E♭ major (The First of May)
* No. 4 in C minor
* No. 5 in D minor
* No. 6 in B minor
* No. 7 in C major (Leningrad)
* Leningrad première
* American premieres
* No. 8 in C minor
* No. 9 in E♭ major
* No. 10 in E minor
* No. 11 in G minor (The Year 1905)
* No. 12 in D minor (The Year 1917)
* No. 13 in B♭ minor (Babi Yar)
* No. 14 in G minor
* No. 15 in A major

Concertos|

| Piano|

* No. 1 in C minor
* No. 2 in F major

|

Violin|

* No. 1 in A minor
* No. 2 in C♯ minor

Cello|

* No. 1 in E♭ major
* No. 2 in G major

Orchestral works|

* Tahiti Trot
* Suite from The Golden Age
* Suite from The Bolt
* Suite from The Limpid Stream
* Five Fragments
* Scherzo (1922)
* Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 1
* Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2 (orch. McBurney)
* Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 (arr. Atovmyan)
* Festive Overture
* Suite from Encounter at the Elbe
* Suite from The Gadfly (arr. Atovmyan)
* Novorossiisk Chimes, the Flame of Eternal Glory
* October
* "Intervision"

Concert/brass band|

* "March of the Soviet Militia"

Film music|

* The New Babylon
* Alone
* Golden Mountains
* Counterplan
* The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda
* The Youth of Maxim
* Girl Friends
* The Return of Maxim
* The Vyborg Side
* Friends
* The Great Citizen
* Zoya
* Simple People
* The Young Guard
* Pirogov
* Michurin
* Meeting on the Elbe
* The Fall of Berlin
* Belinsky
* The Unforgettable Year 1919
* The Gadfly
* Five Days, Five Nights
* Sofiya Perovskaya
* Hamlet
* King Lear
* Gogoliad (unfinished)

Vocal music|

* Suite on Finnish Themes
* Song of the Forests
* The Sun Shines Over Our Motherland
* Antiformalist Rayok
* From Jewish Folk Poetry
* The Execution of Stepan Razin
* Seven Romances on Poems by Alexander Blok
* Loyalty
* Six Poems by Marina Tsvetayeva
* Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buonarroti
* Four Verses of Captain Lebyadkin

Chamber music|

| String
quartets|

* No. 1 in C major
* No. 2 in A major
* No. 3 in F major
* No. 4 in D major
* No. 5 in B♭ major
* No. 6 in G major
* No. 7 in F♯ minor
* No. 8 in C minor
* No. 9 in E♭ major
* No. 10 in A♭ major
* No. 11 in F minor
* No. 12 in D♭ major
* No. 13 in B♭ minor
* No. 14 in F♯ major
* No. 15 in E♭ minor
* No. 16 in B major (unrealized)

|

Other|

* Cello Sonata in D minor
* Piano Quintet in G minor
* Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor
* Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor
* Quartet Movement in E♭ major (c. 1960s)
* Violin Sonata
* Viola Sonata

Piano music|

* Three Fantastic Dances
* 24 Preludes
* Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor
* Children's Notebook
* 24 Preludes and Fugues

Family|

* Galina Shostakovich (daughter)
* Maxim Shostakovich (son)

Named for Shostakovich|

* Dmitri Shostakovich-class ferry
* Saint Petersburg Academic Philharmonia Named After D. D. Shostakovich
* 2669 Shostakovich
* International Shostakovich Chamber Music Competition
* London Shostakovich Orchestra
* Shostakovich (1969–1981)
* Shostakovich Peninsula
* Shostakovich Quartet

Related articles|

* Concerto
* Concerto DSCH
* DSCH motif
* Europe Central
* Ian MacDonald
* Muddle Instead of Music
* The Noise of Time
* Shostakovich v. Twentieth Century-Fox
* Solomon Volkov
* Testimony: book
* film
* The War Symphonies: Shostakovich Against Stalin
* Wihuri Sibelius Prize

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