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DSCH is a musical motif used by the composer Dmitri Shostakovich to represent himself. It is a musical cryptogram in the manner of the BACH motif, consisting of the notes D, E-flat, C, B natural, or in German musical notation D, Es, C, H (pronounced as "De-Es-Ce-Ha"), thus standing for the composer's initials in German transliteration: D. Sch. (Dmitri Schostakowitsch).

Usage

By Shostakovich

The motif occurs in many of his works, including:

• Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 77
• Fugue No. 15 in D-flat major, Op. 87 (only once, in the stretto)
• String Quartet No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 92
• Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93
• String Quartet No. 6 in G major, Op. 101 (Played all at once by the four instruments at the end of each movement)
• String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110 (appears in every single movement)
• Symphony No. 15 in A major, Op. 141.
• Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor, Op. 61 (questionable)

By others

Many homages to Shostakovich (such as Schnittke's Prelude in memory of Dmitri Shostakovich or Tsintsadze's 9th String Quartet) make extensive use of the motif. The British composer Ronald Stevenson composed a large Passacaglia on it. Also Edison Denisov dedicated some works (1969 DSCH for clarinet, trombone, cello and piano, and his 1970 saxophone sonata) to Shostakovich, by quoting the motif several times and using it as the first four notes of a twelve-tone series. Denisov was Shostakovich's protégé for a long time.

See also

• Sacher hexachord

References

1. Taruskin, Richard (2010). Music in the Late Twentieth Century: The Oxford History of Western Music. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. p. 463. ISBN 9780195384857.

Bibliography

• Brown, Stephen C., “Tracing the Origins of Shostakovich’s Musical Motto,” Intégral 20 (2006): 69–103.
• Gasser, Mark. "Ronald Stevenson, Composer-Pianist: An Exegetical Critique from a Pianistic Perspective". PhD diss. : Edith Cowan University, 2013.

External links

• "DSCH – Shostakovich's Motto", DSCH journal
  • "DSCH Quotation Examples", DSCH journal

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 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
Category

• Melodic sections
• Motifs (music)
• Dmitri Shostakovich