Shostakovich, Romance From 'The Gadfly' For Viola (SJ Music)

Shostakovich, Romance from 'The Gadfly' (SJ Music) arranged by Sue Otty for Viola and piano Dmitri Shotakovich (1906-1975) was a Soviet composer and pianist who was one of the most prominent figures of 20th century music. He wrote symphonies, operas, concertos, chamber music and film scores. One of his best known film scores was that written for the 1955 film The Gadfly. The film was based on a historical novel by the Anglo- Irish writer Ethel Voynick, was very successful inside the Soviet Union in its day. Described by a critic as a cross between the Three Muskateers and the Scarlet Pimpernel its hero is a swashbuckling Italian revolutionary, and the 1830/40's setting gave Shostakovich as chance to write pastickes in the style of Bellini and Verdi, as well as pseudo-Napolitan sons and folk-tunes. This tender and sentimental Romance is one of twelve sections of the film score that were later arranged into an orchestral suite.