As told to Eva Maria Chapman, the story of Viktoria Mullova's life is one of striking contrasts and huge challenges. She stunned the world when, along with her Georgian lover, she defected from the USSR as a 23-yearold in 1983, famously leaving behind the priceless Stradivarius with which she had won the coveted gold medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. With nothing but her violin bow and her astonishing looks, she went on to conquer the classical world stage. Mullova's life consists of two halves. The first was spent in the austere totalitarian society of the USSR and the second half in the expansive liberalism of the West. The book tell us how she has assimilated these antithetical experiences in her music, and her personal life makes for a compelling story. Her own history is particularly gripping, with the background of the terror and uncertainty of Cold War Russia. This is an amazing true story of adventure, fear, love and music.
From Russia to Love: The Life and Music of Viktoria Mullova
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Viktoria Mullova is one of the world's finest virtuoso violinists. Eva Maria Chapman is the author of Sasha and Olga.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Bookworm
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Gives background and substance to the work of one of the world's truly great violinists. Balanced yet affectionate account that goes a long way to increasing understanding of her work.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By R Stephens
Format:Hardcover
Viktoria Mullova first came to my attention via a film called "Viktoria Comes West". It was screened by the BBC in January 1985 as part of its "Real Lives" documentary strand, and told of how, 18 months earlier, the prize-winning and outstanding violinist had defected from the stifling background of the Soviet Union, to settle in the USA. For me, her output on record is second to none, from Mendelssohn to Stravinsky, and even to the Bee Gees and Donald Fagen on a collection called "Through the Looking Glass". Her 2009 recording of J.S.Bach: 6 Sonatas & Partitas is an ideal place to start, if you are so far unfamiliar with her work. She is also a dynamic, exciting concert performer.
"From Russia to Love", written by Eva Maria Chapman with the help of Mullova herself, lays bare Mullova's drive and inventiveness as a soloist, and tells of her eventual relocation to London for family life with her cellist husband Matthew Barley. It also reveals how she finally resumed contact with her roots in Moscow after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. This is a moving, fascinating and at times gripping memoir about a musician's commitment, perfectionism and curiosity.
"From Russia to Love", written by Eva Maria Chapman with the help of Mullova herself, lays bare Mullova's drive and inventiveness as a soloist, and tells of her eventual relocation to London for family life with her cellist husband Matthew Barley. It also reveals how she finally resumed contact with her roots in Moscow after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. This is a moving, fascinating and at times gripping memoir about a musician's commitment, perfectionism and curiosity.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
the inside and the outside
9 Feb 2013
By Alexander T. Gafford
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Why write and why read a book like this? If, like me, you listen to a lot of recorded "clasical" and other music and have run across the work of Viktoria Mullova in collecting and listening, then this provides new insight into why we hear what we hear in these recordings. The relationship between an artist's work and their entire life expeience is in every case quite important to complete understanding and Eva Maria Chapman has done a good job of relating what that experience has been like for Mullova.
It is hard for those of us younger than a certain age to realize just what life in the old Soviet Union could be for entire classes of people or anyone possesed of originality, creativity, or distinctiveness. The huge pressure to conform to a Soviet ideal but also to excell within that comformity led to an artistic approach of relentless pursuit of perfection, which is not in itself a bad thing, but ultimately limiting if not transcended. This book explains how this contradiction led to Mullova's ultimate defection late in the Soviet era.
Running all through the book is the story of Mullova's complex family life and relationships with her parents and the men in her life and her quite blended family. This is a story made all the more complex by the geography involved in a world wide musical career. The history and development of these relationships does not have a direct bearing on her music but enables much of what she has done and accomplished musically.
Ms Chapman does a good enough job of describing the musical evolution from the Moscow school of steely perfection (and steel strings on the violin) to the more inclusive and relaxed approach to Baroque and folk/jazz idioms (with gut strings on the violin)that Mullova now embraces. A professional musician might have described this more completely but we certainly get the sense that Viktoria has traveled a long way musically and thought long and hard about what she is doing.
In any case, read the book and then go listen to some of the music!
It is hard for those of us younger than a certain age to realize just what life in the old Soviet Union could be for entire classes of people or anyone possesed of originality, creativity, or distinctiveness. The huge pressure to conform to a Soviet ideal but also to excell within that comformity led to an artistic approach of relentless pursuit of perfection, which is not in itself a bad thing, but ultimately limiting if not transcended. This book explains how this contradiction led to Mullova's ultimate defection late in the Soviet era.
Running all through the book is the story of Mullova's complex family life and relationships with her parents and the men in her life and her quite blended family. This is a story made all the more complex by the geography involved in a world wide musical career. The history and development of these relationships does not have a direct bearing on her music but enables much of what she has done and accomplished musically.
Ms Chapman does a good enough job of describing the musical evolution from the Moscow school of steely perfection (and steel strings on the violin) to the more inclusive and relaxed approach to Baroque and folk/jazz idioms (with gut strings on the violin)that Mullova now embraces. A professional musician might have described this more completely but we certainly get the sense that Viktoria has traveled a long way musically and thought long and hard about what she is doing.
In any case, read the book and then go listen to some of the music!
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