- Paperback: 432 pages
- Publisher: Princeton University Press (26 July 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0691120692
- ISBN-13: 978-0691120690
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.1 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,098,385 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
An important contribution to the discussion on Shostakovich. -- "Library Journal
Product Description
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) has a reputation as one of the leading composers of the twentieth century. But the story of his controversial role in history is still being told, and his full measure as a musician still being taken. This collection of essays goes far in expanding the traditional purview of Shostakovich's world, exploring the composer's creativity and art in terms of the expectations--historical, cultural, and political--that forged them.
The collection contains documents that appear for the first time in English. Letters that young "Miti" wrote to his mother offer a glimpse into his dreams and ambitions at the outset of his career. Shostakovich's answers to a 1927 questionnaire reveal much about his formative tastes in the arts and the way he experienced the creative process. His previously unknown letters to Stalin shed new light on Shostakovich's position within the Soviet artistic elite.
The essays delve into neglected aspects of Shostakovich's formidable legacy. Simon Morrison provides an in-depth examination of the choreography, costumes, décor, and music of his ballet The Bolt and Gerard McBurney of the musical references, parodies, and quotations in his operetta Moscow, Cheryomushki. David Fanning looks at Shostakovich's activities as a pedagogue and the mark they left on his students' and his own music. Peter J. Schmelz explores the composer's late-period adoption of twelve-tone writing in the context of the distinctively "Soviet" practice of serialism. Other contributors include Caryl Emerson, Christopher H. Gibbs, Levon Hakobian, Leonid Maximenkov, and Rosa Sadykhova. In a provocative concluding essay, Leon Botstein reflects on the different ways listeners approach the music of Shostakovich.
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First Sentence
From their first parting in 1923, Dmitrii Shostakovich corresponded with his mother for almost thirty years. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
From their first parting in 1923, Dmitrii Shostakovich corresponded with his mother for almost thirty years. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is part of a series of volumes that have been published since 1990 as offshoots from the Bard Music Festival, which examines the music of one composer in depth each year. Laurel Fay, celebrated or reviled in various quarters for her studies on Shostakovich, is the editor of this compilation, but she does not contribute an essay herself. The scholars here come from a variety of nationalities, including Russian, American and British.
Each essay is a stand-alone work, where there isn't necessarily a single unifying "concept" to the whole book, except Shostakovich himself, of course. Thus there is a "grab bag" quality about this collection, but it's a very substantial grab bag. Some chapters, such as by Christopher Gibbs and Simon Morrison, deal with single compositions of Shostakovich. Other authors, like Caryl Emerson, David Fanning, and Peter Schmelz, address broader themes beyond single works. The first two chapters deal more with raw biographical material, namely Shostakovich's letters, in Chapter 1 as a young man to his mother, and in Chapter 2 from the composer to Stalin and other functionaries, where he basically curries favor with the "Great Leader" and the authorities. This gives a new twist and perspective to the brutal denunciation of Soviet composers in 1936 and 1948 and Shostakovich's place there.
By the nature of its source, this book does not pretend to give a broad overview of Shostakovich's life, but examines more specialized subjects in depth. So this book might appeal more to Shostakovich aficionados rather than the person just trying to get acquainted with his music. With that in mind, however, this collection is a rich feast.
Each essay is a stand-alone work, where there isn't necessarily a single unifying "concept" to the whole book, except Shostakovich himself, of course. Thus there is a "grab bag" quality about this collection, but it's a very substantial grab bag. Some chapters, such as by Christopher Gibbs and Simon Morrison, deal with single compositions of Shostakovich. Other authors, like Caryl Emerson, David Fanning, and Peter Schmelz, address broader themes beyond single works. The first two chapters deal more with raw biographical material, namely Shostakovich's letters, in Chapter 1 as a young man to his mother, and in Chapter 2 from the composer to Stalin and other functionaries, where he basically curries favor with the "Great Leader" and the authorities. This gives a new twist and perspective to the brutal denunciation of Soviet composers in 1936 and 1948 and Shostakovich's place there.
By the nature of its source, this book does not pretend to give a broad overview of Shostakovich's life, but examines more specialized subjects in depth. So this book might appeal more to Shostakovich aficionados rather than the person just trying to get acquainted with his music. With that in mind, however, this collection is a rich feast.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Excellent compendium of various essays on DSCH and his music
29 Aug 2011
Format:Paperback
This book is part of a series of volumes that have been published since 1990 as offshoots from the Bard Music Festival, which examines the music of one composer in depth each year. Laurel Fay, celebrated or reviled in various quarters for her studies on Shostakovich, is the editor of this compilation, but she does not contribute an essay herself. The scholars here come from a variety of nationalities, including Russian, American and British.
Each essay is a stand-alone work, where there isn't necessarily a single unifying "concept" to the whole book, except Shostakovich himself, of course. Thus there is a "grab bag" quality about this collection, but it's a very substantial grab bag. Some chapters, such as by Christopher Gibbs and Simon Morrison, deal with single compositions of Shostakovich. Other authors, like Caryl Emerson, David Fanning, and Peter Schmelz, address broader themes beyond single works. The first two chapters deal more with raw biographical material, namely Shostakovich's letters, in Chapter 1 as a young man to his mother, and in Chapter 2 from the composer to Stalin and other functionaries, where he basically curries favor with the "Great Leader" and the authorities. This gives a new twist and perspective to the brutal denunciation of Soviet composers in 1936 and 1948 and Shostakovich's place there.
By the nature of its source, this book does not pretend to give a broad overview of Shostakovich's life, but examines more specialized subjects in depth. So this book might appeal more to Shostakovich aficionados rather than the person just trying to get acquainted with his music. With that in mind, however, this collection is a rich feast.
Each essay is a stand-alone work, where there isn't necessarily a single unifying "concept" to the whole book, except Shostakovich himself, of course. Thus there is a "grab bag" quality about this collection, but it's a very substantial grab bag. Some chapters, such as by Christopher Gibbs and Simon Morrison, deal with single compositions of Shostakovich. Other authors, like Caryl Emerson, David Fanning, and Peter Schmelz, address broader themes beyond single works. The first two chapters deal more with raw biographical material, namely Shostakovich's letters, in Chapter 1 as a young man to his mother, and in Chapter 2 from the composer to Stalin and other functionaries, where he basically curries favor with the "Great Leader" and the authorities. This gives a new twist and perspective to the brutal denunciation of Soviet composers in 1936 and 1948 and Shostakovich's place there.
By the nature of its source, this book does not pretend to give a broad overview of Shostakovich's life, but examines more specialized subjects in depth. So this book might appeal more to Shostakovich aficionados rather than the person just trying to get acquainted with his music. With that in mind, however, this collection is a rich feast.
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