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Shostakovich: A Life Remembered
Shostakovich: A Life Remembered is a unique study of the great composer Dmitri Shostakovich, based on reminiscences from his contemporaries: family members, friends, fellow musicians and other prominent figures of the time. Elizabeth Wilson covers the composer's life from his early successes to his struggles under the Stalinist regime, and his international recognition as one of the leading composers of the 20th century. She builds up a detailed picture of Shostakovich's creative processes, how he was perceived by contemporaries and of the increased contrast between his private life and public image as his fame increased.
This revised edition, produced to coincide with the centenary of Shostakovich's birth, draws on many new writings on the composer. This provides both a more detailed and focused image of Shostakovich's life, and a wider view of his cultural background. A particular aspect of Shostakovich which is revealed in this new edition is his sardonic and witty sense of humour, displayed in many of his letters to close friends.
Shostakovich: A Life Remembered provides fascinating insight into the complex personality and the musical life of this great composer, and examines his position as one of the major figures of cultural life in 20th century Russia.
This revised edition, produced to coincide with the centenary of Shostakovich's birth, draws on many new writings on the composer. This provides both a more detailed and focused image of Shostakovich's life, and a wider view of his cultural background. A particular aspect of Shostakovich which is revealed in this new edition is his sardonic and witty sense of humour, displayed in many of his letters to close friends.
Shostakovich: A Life Remembered provides fascinating insight into the complex personality and the musical life of this great composer, and examines his position as one of the major figures of cultural life in 20th century Russia.
631 pages, Paperback
First published August 14, 1994
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828 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Wilson
186 books12 followersElizabeth Wilson is a pioneer in the development of fashion studies, and has been a university professor, feminist campaigner and activist. Her writing career began in the ‘underground’ magazines of the early 1970s, (Frendz, Red Rag, Spare Rib, Come Together) before she became an academic. She's written for the Guardian and her non-fiction books include Adorned in Dreams (1985, 2003), The Sphinx in the City (1992) (shortlisted for the Manchester Odd Fellows Prize), Bohemians (2000) and Love Game (2014) (long listed for the William Hill sportswriting prize), as well as six crime novels, including War Damage (2009) and The Girl in Berlin (2012) (long listed for the Golden Dagger Award).
There is more than one author with this name in the database. This is the disambiguation profile for authors named Elizabeth Wilson.
There is more than one author with this name in the database. This is the disambiguation profile for authors named Elizabeth Wilson.
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June 5, 2021
Shostakovich: A Life Remembered
The great Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich’s life is in fact remembered here by a large number of people: family, friends and colleagues. Biographer Elizabeth Wilson acts as a curator by introducing and commenting on topics related to the composer’s life and then allowing these people to share their reminiscences*. She also refers to Shostakovich’s writing and other documented sources. By carefully weaving all this information together, a picture of the composer emerges. And of course it is also about the music. A better understanding of the circumstances under which any particular piece was created enhanced my appreciation of the music. Elizabeth Wilson studied at the Moscow Conservatoire with legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, and she was very fortunate to have attended the premieres of several of Shostakovich’s works. The cellist and his soprano wife, Galina Vishnevskaya** were friends of the composer.
Dmitri Shostakovich
Shostakovich was born in 1906, the year after the bloody revolt in St Petersburg, and it was a time of great upheaval. His father, a trained biologist, worked as an engineer. His mother studied piano. According to his younger sister Zoya ”As soon as we reached our ninth birthdays, Mother started each of us at the piano. Two days after she began lessons with Mitya, she announced, ‘We have an outstandingly gifted boy on our hands.’ He was able to grasp things like musical notation instantly, and in a few days’ time he was playing four-hand music with Mother.”
It didn’t take long to figure out that Dmitri (or Mitya) was a genius. When the young Dmitri entered the Conservatoire to further his music education he was still in his teens whereas everyone else was much older. Further in the book various people comment on the fact that he had an incredible memory and that he could visualise the score of an entire symphony. If someone played a wrong note or changed anything even slightly he was able to correct them. On one occasion where someone lamented that there wasn’t a score available for him, he told them not to worry as it was all in his head. Some people commented on his wonderful knowledge of Russian literature which he was able to quote at length.
The composer was an excellent pianist, and started playing (and improvising) at the cinema at an early age. The next logical step was to compose film music (a revelation to me). This is what happened when he graduated from the Conservatoire: “Mitya’s graduation piece in composition was his famous First Symphony. Glazunov sat and listened and listened to it; he left the hall saying, ‘I don’t understand anything. Of course the work shows great talent, but I don’t understand it.’”
We learn that ”The success of the First Symphony catapulted Shostakovich overnight to international fame. In May 1927, Bruno Walter performed the work in Berlin, and before long it was taken up by Arturo Toscanini and Otto Klemperer, amongst others. Such diverse figures as Darius Milhaud and Alban Berg were impressed by it.” High praise indeed!
And apparently he was not arrogant. According to the people he associated with he was kind and polite. He seemed to have tremendous nervous energy, and he worked incredibly hard. According to violinist Yakov Milkis ”He always sat alone at rehearsals, preferring some inconspicuous spot in the stalls. He avoided any kind of demonstrativeness, and seemed to retire into himself, melting into his surroundings, so as to be left undisturbed while listening and working. This incredible modesty was apparent also when he was in a gathering of people. Here too he appeared to fade into the background, doing his best not to attract attention to himself.”
He had a notoriously difficult time under Stalin. One moment Shostakovich’s music was pronounced as wonderful, the next it was banned and vilified, and so on. A famous example is his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk which didn’t go down well with Stalin at all, and subsequently an article was printed in Pravda with the title ”Muddle instead of Music”.*** This led to much persecution and criticism. Author Maxim Gorky wrote to Stalin to plead the composer’s case.
But there were wonderful moments too:
”The triumphant reception of the Fifth Symphony at its premiere on 21 November 1937 was seen as a public vindication of the humiliating and unfair criticism Shostakovich had suffered. One of the audience, a certain A. N. Glumov, remembered how:
many of the listeners started to rise automatically from their seats during the finale, one after the other. The music had a sort of electrical force. A thunderous ovation shook the columns of the white Philharmonic Hall, and Evgeni Marvinsky lifted the score high above his head, so as to show that it was not he, the conductor, or the orchestra who deserved this storm of applause, these shouts of ‘bravo’; the success belonged to the creator of this work.”
Whilst Shostakovich concentrated on his music, much was happening: WWI, the Russian Revolution, Stalin’s purges and of course WWII. Much has been written about the very poignant performance of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony conducted by Karl Eliasberg**** and broadcast during the 900-day siege of Leningrad (previously St Petersburg and Petrograd) where the emaciated members of the orchestra who had not yet succumbed to the terrible famine played to the best of their ability. Shostakovich and his family were fortunately evacuated from the besieged city, which was just as well as he suffered from tuberculosis of the lymphatic system.
It is not my intention to relate Dmitri Shostakovich’s entire story or talk about all his music. Suffice to say that it is a very interesting biography with the participation of many who knew him and loved him or not as the case may be. I certainly got to like the man Dmitri Shostakovich, and I have increased my enjoyment of the composer’s music. I am not a musician, nor am I able to read music. However, I am a music lover with a fairly large collection of music. What I’m trying to say is that one need not be a musician in order to enjoy reading this biography.
”Nature has endowed him with a particular sensibility of hearing; he hears people weep, he hears their low murmur of anger, the tearing of hearts, the trembling groans of despair. He has hearkened to the rumbling of the earth, the crowds marching for justice, the strikers’ whistles, the angry songs erupting in the city outskirts, a penny-harmonium screeching out trite melodies, and the wind that carries them to every corner of the earth. He introduced revolutionary songs into the severe world of the symphony. Then, when the sirens of war whined over Europe, he heard the hoarse cries and the moans, the grating and jangling of steel on the bloodied battlefields.”
#####
*In the Biographical Notes section the author lists people who contributed their reminiscences and opinions.
**Galina Vishnevskaya’s autobiography Galina: A Russian Story is very interesting.
***Julian Barnes, in his excellent novel The Noise of Time, referred to this incident.
****I particularly liked Brian Moynahan’s account of this performance in his book Leningrad: Siege and Symphony: The Story of the Great City Terrorized by Stalin, Starved by Hitler, Immortalized by Shostakovich.
#####
There are extensive notes at the end of each chapter. There is also an Annotated List of Sources, as well as several pages of photos.
Whilst I was reading this biography I listened to the compositions being discussed.
Here is a documentary about Dmitri Shostakovich:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G-FpiPW...
An here is Wikipedia’s list of compositions by Shostakovich:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
The great Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich’s life is in fact remembered here by a large number of people: family, friends and colleagues. Biographer Elizabeth Wilson acts as a curator by introducing and commenting on topics related to the composer’s life and then allowing these people to share their reminiscences*. She also refers to Shostakovich’s writing and other documented sources. By carefully weaving all this information together, a picture of the composer emerges. And of course it is also about the music. A better understanding of the circumstances under which any particular piece was created enhanced my appreciation of the music. Elizabeth Wilson studied at the Moscow Conservatoire with legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, and she was very fortunate to have attended the premieres of several of Shostakovich’s works. The cellist and his soprano wife, Galina Vishnevskaya** were friends of the composer.
Dmitri Shostakovich
Shostakovich was born in 1906, the year after the bloody revolt in St Petersburg, and it was a time of great upheaval. His father, a trained biologist, worked as an engineer. His mother studied piano. According to his younger sister Zoya ”As soon as we reached our ninth birthdays, Mother started each of us at the piano. Two days after she began lessons with Mitya, she announced, ‘We have an outstandingly gifted boy on our hands.’ He was able to grasp things like musical notation instantly, and in a few days’ time he was playing four-hand music with Mother.”
It didn’t take long to figure out that Dmitri (or Mitya) was a genius. When the young Dmitri entered the Conservatoire to further his music education he was still in his teens whereas everyone else was much older. Further in the book various people comment on the fact that he had an incredible memory and that he could visualise the score of an entire symphony. If someone played a wrong note or changed anything even slightly he was able to correct them. On one occasion where someone lamented that there wasn’t a score available for him, he told them not to worry as it was all in his head. Some people commented on his wonderful knowledge of Russian literature which he was able to quote at length.
The composer was an excellent pianist, and started playing (and improvising) at the cinema at an early age. The next logical step was to compose film music (a revelation to me). This is what happened when he graduated from the Conservatoire: “Mitya’s graduation piece in composition was his famous First Symphony. Glazunov sat and listened and listened to it; he left the hall saying, ‘I don’t understand anything. Of course the work shows great talent, but I don’t understand it.’”
We learn that ”The success of the First Symphony catapulted Shostakovich overnight to international fame. In May 1927, Bruno Walter performed the work in Berlin, and before long it was taken up by Arturo Toscanini and Otto Klemperer, amongst others. Such diverse figures as Darius Milhaud and Alban Berg were impressed by it.” High praise indeed!
And apparently he was not arrogant. According to the people he associated with he was kind and polite. He seemed to have tremendous nervous energy, and he worked incredibly hard. According to violinist Yakov Milkis ”He always sat alone at rehearsals, preferring some inconspicuous spot in the stalls. He avoided any kind of demonstrativeness, and seemed to retire into himself, melting into his surroundings, so as to be left undisturbed while listening and working. This incredible modesty was apparent also when he was in a gathering of people. Here too he appeared to fade into the background, doing his best not to attract attention to himself.”
He had a notoriously difficult time under Stalin. One moment Shostakovich’s music was pronounced as wonderful, the next it was banned and vilified, and so on. A famous example is his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk which didn’t go down well with Stalin at all, and subsequently an article was printed in Pravda with the title ”Muddle instead of Music”.*** This led to much persecution and criticism. Author Maxim Gorky wrote to Stalin to plead the composer’s case.
But there were wonderful moments too:
”The triumphant reception of the Fifth Symphony at its premiere on 21 November 1937 was seen as a public vindication of the humiliating and unfair criticism Shostakovich had suffered. One of the audience, a certain A. N. Glumov, remembered how:
many of the listeners started to rise automatically from their seats during the finale, one after the other. The music had a sort of electrical force. A thunderous ovation shook the columns of the white Philharmonic Hall, and Evgeni Marvinsky lifted the score high above his head, so as to show that it was not he, the conductor, or the orchestra who deserved this storm of applause, these shouts of ‘bravo’; the success belonged to the creator of this work.”
Whilst Shostakovich concentrated on his music, much was happening: WWI, the Russian Revolution, Stalin’s purges and of course WWII. Much has been written about the very poignant performance of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony conducted by Karl Eliasberg**** and broadcast during the 900-day siege of Leningrad (previously St Petersburg and Petrograd) where the emaciated members of the orchestra who had not yet succumbed to the terrible famine played to the best of their ability. Shostakovich and his family were fortunately evacuated from the besieged city, which was just as well as he suffered from tuberculosis of the lymphatic system.
It is not my intention to relate Dmitri Shostakovich’s entire story or talk about all his music. Suffice to say that it is a very interesting biography with the participation of many who knew him and loved him or not as the case may be. I certainly got to like the man Dmitri Shostakovich, and I have increased my enjoyment of the composer’s music. I am not a musician, nor am I able to read music. However, I am a music lover with a fairly large collection of music. What I’m trying to say is that one need not be a musician in order to enjoy reading this biography.
”Nature has endowed him with a particular sensibility of hearing; he hears people weep, he hears their low murmur of anger, the tearing of hearts, the trembling groans of despair. He has hearkened to the rumbling of the earth, the crowds marching for justice, the strikers’ whistles, the angry songs erupting in the city outskirts, a penny-harmonium screeching out trite melodies, and the wind that carries them to every corner of the earth. He introduced revolutionary songs into the severe world of the symphony. Then, when the sirens of war whined over Europe, he heard the hoarse cries and the moans, the grating and jangling of steel on the bloodied battlefields.”
#####
*In the Biographical Notes section the author lists people who contributed their reminiscences and opinions.
**Galina Vishnevskaya’s autobiography Galina: A Russian Story is very interesting.
***Julian Barnes, in his excellent novel The Noise of Time, referred to this incident.
****I particularly liked Brian Moynahan’s account of this performance in his book Leningrad: Siege and Symphony: The Story of the Great City Terrorized by Stalin, Starved by Hitler, Immortalized by Shostakovich.
#####
There are extensive notes at the end of each chapter. There is also an Annotated List of Sources, as well as several pages of photos.
Whilst I was reading this biography I listened to the compositions being discussed.
Here is a documentary about Dmitri Shostakovich:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G-FpiPW...
An here is Wikipedia’s list of compositions by Shostakovich:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
August 19, 2023
The triumphant reception of the Fifth Symphony at its premiere on 21 November 1937 was seen as a public vindication of the humiliating and unfair criticism Shostakovich had suffered.
I received this for Christmas in 1995. I am not sure if the date for the premiere struck me as meaningful. I'd like to think so. Wilson serves largely as an editor, as this becomes an oral history.
This was a benchmark for my cultural development. I spent more time in concert halls in 1995-96 than I have since.
I received this for Christmas in 1995. I am not sure if the date for the premiere struck me as meaningful. I'd like to think so. Wilson serves largely as an editor, as this becomes an oral history.
This was a benchmark for my cultural development. I spent more time in concert halls in 1995-96 than I have since.
June 1, 2013
Dmitri Shostakovich is one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century, and the arc of his life has a lot to teach us in the present and future. In the decades since his death, his memory has passed through three curious incarnations. First he was labeled a Soviet hack, a poisonous accusation straight out of cold war animosities. Then, as the Soviet Union disintegrated and the cold war came to a close, he was repackaged as a dissident martyr oppressed by a tyrannical regime, befitting the geopolitical shifts of the time. A third incarnation may well be upon us, in which Shostakovich emerges as the genius of a composer that he was; his music informed by his time and experiences but transcending them into the universal. Neither a hack nor a dissident martyr, but a revolutionary composer and a profound humanist with wrinkles and all.
Shostakovich, a Life Remembered, offers a Rashomon-like take on the composer and the man. Snippets of reminiscences by friends, colleagues, acquaintances and others flow in a continuous stream of consciousness-like manner to build a composite picture of the man and his times, in all of his and their complexities. Wilson is an accomplished cellist, a trainee of the great Russian cellist Mislav Rostropovich, himself a student of Shostakovich (in composition) and the dedicatee of Shostakovich's First and Second Cello Concerti. Shostakovich's music, while not deeply probed or analyzed, is ever present in the background, providing milestones to a brilliant and turbulent life. Deeply satisfying and informative, and recommended for all those interested in the man, his music and times.
Shostakovich, a Life Remembered, offers a Rashomon-like take on the composer and the man. Snippets of reminiscences by friends, colleagues, acquaintances and others flow in a continuous stream of consciousness-like manner to build a composite picture of the man and his times, in all of his and their complexities. Wilson is an accomplished cellist, a trainee of the great Russian cellist Mislav Rostropovich, himself a student of Shostakovich (in composition) and the dedicatee of Shostakovich's First and Second Cello Concerti. Shostakovich's music, while not deeply probed or analyzed, is ever present in the background, providing milestones to a brilliant and turbulent life. Deeply satisfying and informative, and recommended for all those interested in the man, his music and times.
May 19, 2016
A wonderful compilation of testimonies by just about every contemporary of Shostakovich imaginable. Loved it.
Just a personal side note:
I have been immersed in Shostakovich's for almost two months now. Even after reading several books on the man and his music, I am still at a bit of a loss as to why I find his music so compelling. I have always been drawn to the beautiful melodies of the Romantic composers. Melodies were definitely not Shostakovich's forte and I don't think that bothered him a bit. But there is something there...something forceful that demands to be heard (Shostakovich probably would have hated how melodramatic that sounds lol).
Anyway, on to Laurel Fey's work for a balance in perspective.
Just a personal side note:
I have been immersed in Shostakovich's for almost two months now. Even after reading several books on the man and his music, I am still at a bit of a loss as to why I find his music so compelling. I have always been drawn to the beautiful melodies of the Romantic composers. Melodies were definitely not Shostakovich's forte and I don't think that bothered him a bit. But there is something there...something forceful that demands to be heard (Shostakovich probably would have hated how melodramatic that sounds lol).
Anyway, on to Laurel Fey's work for a balance in perspective.
December 7, 2007
If you like Shostakovich, then this book is essential. It consists pretty much entirely of memories and account by people who knew Shostakovich, which makes it reliable and a great read. Elizabeth Wilson is more editor than writer, as her words are usually only there to situate a quote in a certain situation/time period, but I think this is a very positive thing (not because she's a bad writer, but because it helps with the general feel of the book). I know have an idea of what Shostakovich was like as a person, as a friend, and I love that.
October 26, 2007
I was fascinated by this book, being an inside glimpse into the life of DDS. There are some personal stories that are memorable. Many good interviews, pictures, and stories.
The 8th Symphony ... "if you only knew how much blood that C-major cost me."
Poem "Music" by Anna A.
The 8th Symphony ... "if you only knew how much blood that C-major cost me."
Poem "Music" by Anna A.
Read
December 23, 2024An exhaustive collection of memoirs from various people who knew Shostakovich in one capacity or another--letters, interviews, other publications, etc.--all knit together by Wilson into nearly 600 pages of more or less chronological biography giving multiple perspectives on the composer and his music. A long read, but worth it.
April 3, 2019
At first the sheer volume made me put the book down. However, later I picked it again and liked it more and more. It's large, so you might find that intimidating.
It consists of testimonies from various people involved in composer's life. What is fascinating is that it presents him and these people in flesh and bones, within a panoply of human states such as emotions, jealousies, mediocrity, cowardice or bravery, joy or fear. In the process it humanizes Shostakovich, who appears as very kind with others.
His life parallels the forming and crystallizing of the Soviet Union.
The book is a source of inspiration and has to be reread.
Also, as it is presented chronologically, you might read it while checking the musical compositions whose creation is descried.
It consists of testimonies from various people involved in composer's life. What is fascinating is that it presents him and these people in flesh and bones, within a panoply of human states such as emotions, jealousies, mediocrity, cowardice or bravery, joy or fear. In the process it humanizes Shostakovich, who appears as very kind with others.
His life parallels the forming and crystallizing of the Soviet Union.
The book is a source of inspiration and has to be reread.
Also, as it is presented chronologically, you might read it while checking the musical compositions whose creation is descried.
March 30, 2019
The life of Dimitri Shostakovich is the story of the Soviet Union. Shostakovich's parents were part of the intelligentsia at the end of the Tsarist era and spent part of Shostakovich's early years in internal exile. Shostakovich was a teenager for the revolution and civil war years. He was besieged in Leningrad by the Nazis. Persecuted by Stalinism and allowed a small degree of freedom in the thaw after Khruschev took power. And then, later in life he was both revered by younger artists and castigated for the personal compromises he made with the Soviet regime. Shostakovich's music was modern (although not avant garde) and did not conform with notions of Soviet Socialist Realism. Nevertheless, by the time of World War II he was a world-famous composer and the Soviet's could not be too tough on him as they worked to improve their international reputation.
Elizabeth Wilson's biography focuses on Shostakovich's life and how he navigated the currents of history that flowed so strongly through his life. The biography is told from the point of view of remembrances of people who knew Shostakovich when he was alive. At times, therefore, the posthumous remembrances border on hagiography rather than biography. Nevertheless, a clear picture of a musical prodigy emerges devoted to his craft to the exclusion of all other considerations. Shostakovich learned to make peace with the authorities. He did not engage in all out war with them. Ms. Wilson describes much of Shostakovich's music, but not in overly-technical terms like other composer biographies, making this book suitable for non-music folks.
In the end, this turns into a fascinating biography of Shostakovich and another way to see Soviet history. I highly recommend it,
Elizabeth Wilson's biography focuses on Shostakovich's life and how he navigated the currents of history that flowed so strongly through his life. The biography is told from the point of view of remembrances of people who knew Shostakovich when he was alive. At times, therefore, the posthumous remembrances border on hagiography rather than biography. Nevertheless, a clear picture of a musical prodigy emerges devoted to his craft to the exclusion of all other considerations. Shostakovich learned to make peace with the authorities. He did not engage in all out war with them. Ms. Wilson describes much of Shostakovich's music, but not in overly-technical terms like other composer biographies, making this book suitable for non-music folks.
In the end, this turns into a fascinating biography of Shostakovich and another way to see Soviet history. I highly recommend it,
December 6, 2022
A dense biography on the Russian composer - it provides lots of information on Shostakovich, from birth to death, his notable works (good reference for those getting into his music), his struggles as an artist in the Soviet era, his influences, demeanour, friends, family and opponents. However, for those who have no idea who he is and is looking for an introduction to Shostakovich, the book will undoubtedly be too long to go through in one sitting - with the huge number of recounts from the people associated with the composer (with constant repetition on certain traits of the composer / events) and how certain recounts provided are tangents that may be of little to no relevance to the composer’s life story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2022
A wonderful tapestry of personal reminiscences of the composer, creating a vivid sense of his personality, and of the nature of the political and social pressures that he and other creatives in Soviet Russia had to endure. There is quite a lot of repetition, with a particular piece of information frequently appearing within several different extracts from interviews and memories, as well as within Wilson's more strictly chronological framing narrative. The author's occasional inclusion of herself as a third person source when recounting her own memories of Shostakovich is slightly jarring. Memorable quotations and anecdotes abound!
February 22, 2018
This is for sure the best biography of a composer that I have ever read. The author uses interviews, articles and reports with people that knew Shostakovich providing you with an incredibly vivid picture of him. His life, his personality, his compositions, the controversy around his ideological stand but also his time in general gets to life through these reports. This book is an incredible collection of sources and knowledge about Shostakovich, taking you so close to him that at the end it feels like saying goodbye to a life-long friend.
September 4, 2022
An exquisite book. Please make time to not only read this book, but also listen to as much of his music as you can as you read. I especially enjoyed The Nose - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=muxgjsh...
October 27, 2019
A monumental achievement, rather numbing in its details but powerful overall.
November 18, 2020
A biography and a document of an era. Fascinating...
August 24, 2021
Wow. There's so much here I never knew. Super good. What a composer and man. What a life.
February 10, 2022
This man was anxious as hell. A unique life, and a fantastic biographical collection on the mythical Soviet composer.
August 29, 2022
A book of testimonies & reflections. An interesting insight into the life & challenges of this great 20th century composer.
June 10, 2024
Brilliantly written and well sourced. The text is thorough and detailed.
July 18, 2009
This book is constructed in such a unique style through its incredible wealth of anecdotes, personal recollections within a chronological framework of his life and works. Shostakovich was such a famously enigmatic composer yet i find whenever i dip into this book i come away with a more personal sense of the man with all his complexities; his friendships,loyalties, strengths, and inner torments. Its a really invaluable reference.
April 10, 2009
A somewhat distant account of the composer's life and work, constantly interrupted with (well deserved!) indictments of the USSR's despicable policies toward arts and letters. In so depressing a milieu Shostakovich's music inevitably conveys sombre and bitter tones, yet occasionally sparkles with brilliant jollity and wit. Ms. Wilson's account does much to explain these seeming anomalies.
January 4, 2010
An incredibly insightful compilation of reminiscences that tells the story of Dmitri Shostakovich's life, this book is an enlightening nonfiction page-turner.
Read
November 2, 2018Its very good source.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews