Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.13 (805 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 087910998X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 336 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-05-25 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
A Rarity: An Anticomunist Artist C. Lindsay The life of a very brave man who refused to toe the line for one of the most ruthless political leaders in recorded history. It is told by Shostakovich himself, dictated to a friend and admirer. He gives an authentic report of life under Communism, by someone who lived it, not someone who reads the writings of apologists who have never been there.. Remarkable piece of work. It left me wanting to Remarkable piece of work. It left me wanting to know more, so I am now reading Elizabeth Wilson's biography of the composer.. A musician's must-read An historic document in every sense. The clear-eyed sorrow and sardonic wit identify their owner unmistakably. One wishes he had had the time to extend and explore what is sometimes only hinted at. The clarifying footnotes are a distinct help to the Western reader. And the text's opinions and reports of Western attitudes, remind us how little we were allowed to know in those shadowed times.
"'I do not know of a musician who will not read it with compassion and admiration' Andre Previn"
. Petersburg: A Cultural History. Solomon Volkov is a musicologist and the author, most recently, of St
(Limelight). " Testimony changed the perception of Shostakovich's life and work dramatically, and influenced innumerable performances of his music." New Grove Dictionary. This 25th anniversary edition includes a new foreword by Vladimir Ashkenazy, as well as black-and-white photos. This is the powerful memoirs which an ailing Dmitri Shostakovich dictated to a young Russian musicologist, Solomon Volkov. When it was first published in 1979, it became an international bestseller