Changes

In his later years, Shostakovich's music became increasingly personal, and often involving the theme of death.  Notably, the Fourteenth Symphony (1968) is a series of eleven songs on the theme of death.  In contrast to many classical works dealing with death, the Fourteenth symphony does not seek to offer religious consolation.  The late String Quartets, notably the Thirteenth (Op 138) and the Fifteenth (Op 144) are similarly bleak and death-obsessed.  Shostakovich's final work is a sonata for viola and piano (Op 147) which was completed a few days before his death from lung cancer in 1975.

In his later years, Shostakovich's music became increasingly personal, and often involving the theme of death.  Notably, the Fourteenth Symphony (1968) is a series of eleven songs on the theme of death.  In contrast to many classical works dealing with death, the Fourteenth symphony does not seek to offer religious consolation.  The late String Quartets, notably the Thirteenth (Op 138) and the Fifteenth (Op 144) are similarly bleak and death-obsessed.  Shostakovich's final work is a sonata for viola and piano (Op 147) which was completed a few days before his death from lung cancer in 1975.