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).


{
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c' {
  \clef treble
  \time 4/4 d es c b
} }
The DSCH motif, consisting of the notes D-E-C-B

Usage

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By Shostakovich

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The motif occurs in many of his works, including:

By others

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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.[1]

See also

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References

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  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

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