ABSTRACT
One of the characteristic features of Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich's music is its melodic, harmonic language: a language that is remarkably free and mobile but also steadfastly tonal. In order to describe melodic, harmonic 'motion', it is necessary first to determine a context within which that motion takes place. The modal organization of Shostakovich's music has been the subject of much theoretical writing, particularly in Russia. Foremost amongst these are the works of Alexander Dolzhansky and Lev Mazel. The instability of tritones within tonal music has long been noted in music theory. Importantly, with respect to Shostakovich, tritones play a central role in the work of Boleslav Yavorsky, widely considered one of the founders of Russian music theory. At the heart of Shostakovich's musical language, then, lies a fundamentally energetic type of pitch organization, a motive and mobile force that plays a vital role as a dimension of energy.
