Six Poems by Marina Tsvetayeva

Six Poems by Marina Tsvetayeva
Song cycle by Dmitri Shostakovich
Shostakovich in June 1973
Opus	143
Text	Marina Tsvetayeva
Language	Russian
Composed	July 31, 1973 (1973-07-31) – August 7, 1973 (1973-08-07): Pärnu, Estonian SSR
Dedication	Irina Bogacheva
Published	1974
Publisher	Muzfond [ru] Muzyka G. Schirmer Edition Peters Zen-On DSCH Publishers
Duration	c. 20 minutes
Movements	6
Scoring	Contralto and piano or small orchestra
Premiere
Date	Op. 143: October 30, 1973 (1973-10-30) Op. 143a: June 15, 1974 (1974-06-15)
Location	Op. 143: Large Hall of the Leningrad Philharmonia Leningrad, Russian SFSR Op. 143a: Large Hall of the Moscow Conservatory Moscow, Russian SFSR
Conductor	Op. 143a: Rudolf Barshai
Performers	Op. 143: Irina Bogacheva (mezzo-soprano) Sofiya Vakman (piano) Op. 143a: Irina Bogacheva (mezzo-soprano) Moscow Chamber Orchestra

The Six Poems by Marina Tsvetayeva: Suite for Contralto and Piano (Russian: Шесть стихотворений Марины Цветаевой: Сюита для контральто и фортепиано, romanized: Shest stikhotvoreniy Mariny Tsvetayevoy: Syuita dlya kontralto i fortepiano),^[1] Op. 143 is a song cycle by Dmitri Shostakovich. It was composed in 1973 and originally scored for contralto and piano. In 1974, the composer produced an arrangement for contralto and chamber orchestra which he designated as Op. 143a.

Shostakovich first encountered the poetry of Marina Tsvetayeva in 1970 through a setting of her verses by his student, Boris Tishchenko. Eventually, this resulted in the Six Poems by Marina Tsvetayeva, which was composed in Pärnu, Estonian SSR, between July 31 and August 7, 1973. He conceived the work for the voice of Irina Bogacheva, but initially had difficulty in finding her, which caused him to consider engaging either Elena Obraztsova or Tamara Sinyavskaya as alternatives for the world premiere. He finally managed to secure Bogacheva in September. She and her longtime accompanist, Sofiya Vakman, performed the world premiere at the Large Hall of the Leningrad Philharmonia in Leningrad on October 30, 1973. Bogacheva also sang the premiere of the orchestral version of the work on June 15, 1974, with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra conducted by Rudolf Barshai.

Although the early reception of the Six Poems by Marina Tsvetayeva was marred by controversy ensuing from Shostakovich being a signatory to a denunciation of Andrei Sakharov published in late August 1973, the work was generally received positively. It gained the appreciation of Tsvetayeva's sister, Anastasia, who established a correspondence with the composer in 1975.