Shostakovich and Plan B nominated for Ivor Novello Award

18 April 2013, 12:47 | Updated: 18 April 2013, 15:50

The Russian composer has a writing credit in the 58th annual Ivor Novello Awards, after samples of his Symphony No. 7 were used in Plan B's chart hit, Ill Manors.

Russian composer Shostakovich is one of the writers nominated in the Best Contemporary Song category at The Ivors this year, 38 years after his death. It's thanks to Plan B's 2012 single, Ill Manors, which uses the spiky violin melody from the fourth movement of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 to accompany a rap about social injustice and society's attitude to the disadvantaged youth population of the UK.

When Shostakovich's politically-charged symphony was first performed in 1942, it was seen as a symbol of Russia's struggle against German bombings in the Second World War. In its reinterpretation in Ill Manors, the aggressive violin music underlying the lyrics is intended to add a sense of 'visceral energy' to the music, to get the attention of the listeners.

Shostakovich is one of six writers to receive a credit for the song, which is nominated alongside other pop tracks by Emeli Sandé, alt-J, and Olly Murs. The ceremony will be held in London on Thursday May 16.