Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975)
Festive Overture, Op. 96

Written in 1954, the Festive Overture is one of Shostakovich's few really exuberant works, not tinged by the sense of strain and the forced jollity that gives so many of Shostakovich's later works their poignancy. 1954 was the year after Stalin died; did the composer feel that, at last, he could really celebrate without the need to always look over his shoulder? After a ceremonial opening, which returns briefly at the end, the overture is relentlessly fast and exciting.