Dmitri Schostakowitsch

The Gadfly

Dmitri Shostakovich is mainly remembered for his large-scale orchestral works and concertos but besides that is his contribution to film music also prolific. Between 1929 and 1970 Shostakovich wrote more than thirty movie soundtracks of which 'The Gadfly' was a highly successful film inside the Soviet Union in its day. The Italian setting of the movie gives Shostakovich a chance for delicious pastiches in the style of Bellini and Verdi, as well as pseudo-Neapolitan songs and folk-tunes. Twelve sections from the score were subsequently arranged into a suite, and it's in this setting that the film's wider musical content is most likely to be heard today. Especially the 'Galop' and the 'Romance' became quite well known. The 'Romance' is best remembered by millions for its use in the 1980s TV series 'Reilly, Ace of Spies'. Dutch arranger Jos van de Braak transcribed 6 movements from the original suite for Symphonic Band. The movements are: 'Overture', 'Folk Festival',' Barrel-organ Waltz', 'Galop', 'Romance' and 'Finale'.