Duration: 10:59

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As requested by a few viewers, here’s a little bit of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 with a Mario coat of paint.

For this video, as with previous renditions of mine, I decided to follow Shostakovich's meticulously specific metronome markings as faithfully as possible, which might not be to the liking of some people.
Even I can't deny being thrilled by fast and fiery performances of this piece, but I think taking this tempo is not only an interesting idea all by itself, but it also gives us an idea of the composer's true expressive intentions, as I'll elaborate more on later.
Besides, we do have to keep in mind that the tempo marking is named "Allegro non troppo", roughly meaning "not too fast".

The movement opens with its most distinctive feature, a powerful and menacing main theme (0:05). Following Shostakovich's tempo indications, the music steadily increases in speed as well as intensity.
In the middle of a rigorous development based on the main theme, the trumpet announces an all-new one (2:41). At first, this only serves to create tension, but this second theme subsequently appears in an unambiguously heroic fashion (3:09), even with growing tension below it.
Ultimately, though, this leads to catastrophe (3:33); the main theme returns to seemingly strike this heroic episode down into submission.
The next time the second theme appears, it does so in a decidedly more subdued manner, even getting a sentimental continuation by the strings (4:18).

What follows is a largely quiet segment of mystery and searching (4:50). Almost immediately after we finally arrive at a moment of peace and clarity (6:41), the snare drums and Timpani abruptly bring us back to reality (6:53). The main theme returns, now quieter and more ominous than ever (7:01), but also thoroughly enriched by an elaborate countermelody built alongside it (7:29).

All of this eventually leads to a "breakthrough" in D major (9:26), and here is where the composer's tempo markings may be the most crucial.
When played fast, this coda will most likely sound triumphant, but when played at the speed that Shostakovich indicated, this triumph may come across as forced or false. The persistent high notes played by the strings to the very end may sound especially shrill and harsh, perhaps intentionally so.
Dmitri Shostakovich, famous for having to work all his life fearing what the Soviet regime could do to him were they to become offended or displeased with him, reportedly referred later in his life to this ending as the individual being forced by the government to accept their fate and rejoice, also adding that you'd have to "be an oaf not to hear that".
At the end of the day, however, whether the ending is really triumphant or not is still left to each listener's interpretation. After all, this piece was a huge success, managing to both apparently fool the government and be embraced by the general public.

As a fun side note for gamers, the main theme of this movement was borrowed and prominently used as the leitmotif for the main antagonists in Mother 3. This can be most easily heard in "His Highness' Theme" or "Porky's Theme".

Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47
IV. Allegro non troppo

Composer: Dmitri Shostakovich

Soundfont: Super Mario 64

Mother 3 version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZBKdZ5hzY4

Pokémon DPP version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRZMDMVpEe8