Product Description

For this authoritative post-cold-war biography of Shostakovich's illustrious but turbulent career under Soviet rule, Laurel E. Fay has gone back to primary documents: Shostakovich's many letters, concert programs and reviews, newspaper articles, and diaries of his contemporaries. An indefatigable worker, he wrote his arresting music despite deprivations during the Nazi invasion and constant surveillance under Stalin's regime. Shostakovich's life is a fascinating example of the paradoxes of living as an artist under totalitarian rule. In August 1942, his Seventh Symphony, written as a protest against fascism, was performed in Nazi-besieged Leningrad by the city's surviving musicians, and was triumphantly broadcast to the German troops, who had been bombarded beforehand to silence them. Alone among his artistic peers, he survived successive Stalinist cultural purges and won the Stalin Prize five times, yet in 1948 he was dismissed from his conservatory teaching positions, and many of his works were banned from performance. He prudently censored himself, in one case putting aside a work based on Jewish folk poems. Under later regimes he balanced a career as a model Soviet, holding government positions and acting as an international ambassador with his unflagging artistic ambitions. In the years since his death in 1975, many have embraced a view of Shostakovich as a lifelong dissident who encoded anti-Communist messages in his music. This lucid and fascinating biography demonstrates that the reality was much more complex. Laurel Fay's book includes a detailed list of works, a glossary of names, and an extensive bibliography, making it an indispensable resource for future studies of Shostakovich.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #84418 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-11
• Original language: German
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 488 pages

About the Author
Laurel E. Fay is a widely published writer on Russian and Soviet music, who has been travelling to and studying in Russia since 1971. She lives in Staten Island, New York.

Customer Reviews

Excellent, if somewhat dispassionate, account of DSCH's life
As we commemorate the 25th anniversary of Shostakovich's death it appears that the definitive account of the life and works is still to be written. I would imagine that Volkov's 'Testimony' remains the most widely read book on the Russian composer and whilst the ongoing authenticity debate rages about these memoirs it is as well to have other source material available with a different approach.

On first reading Fay's book may appear tepid in comparison with Volkov's more sensational work. Where 'Shostakovich - A Life' scores is the straightforward and factual approach to the story of the composer's life and the events surrounding the composition and performance of the works. This is laid out in a logical, chronological style with copious supporting notes and evidence to support any incidents referred to. It is refreshing that supposition on the part of the author is kept to a minimum. I finished the book in a matter of days and whilst I may not have felt that I 'knew' Shostakovich any better, I certainly felt better informed than I had been before and in a position to make some of my own jugements based upon the additional facts and information the book provides.

A particular success is the description of the conditions in which the Soviet Artists of the period were expected to produce their works and how this influenced their creation.

Shostakovich may in time be proved to have been either a dissident working within the Soviet system, a Communist Party stoodge, a Composer who was just trying to get his (fine) works performed, or none of these things.

Many more words are to be written and more information will come to light before the Shostakovich enigma is eventually solved, if ever. Fay's book deserves to be read with an open mind by anyone with an interest in the composer, regardless of what position they may hold in any of the ongoing debates surrounding his life and works.

Excellent objective history
I approached this book with some trepidation after one of the previous reviewers described it as academic. Over the years, working in a music library as I do, I've read plenty of academic books written by musicologists, and yes, they can be dry and hard going, this book however is definitely not that. I found it to be accessible and easy to read, the use of language is clear with an excellent use of appendices which ensures that the main body of the text isn't cluttered up with all the detailed notes. It contains a really good list of D.S's works, a list of the many abbreviations used, a glossary of the important people in his life, a select bibliography, and crucially, a really detailed index (ideal for use when listening to a particular piece of his music).

Another great thing about this book is that it is objective about Shostakovich, there is no hyperbole, no loaded value judgement and no political angle.

Its almost perfect, my only minor quibble is that the maps and pictures don't seem to have transfered from its its initial print run very well, with some loss of quality, however, the main reason to buy this is for the text, which is excellent!

Workmanlike musicologist's review of Shostakovich's life
This biography definitely adds to what we know about Shostakovich, but is somewhat academic.

Historical accuracy is the goal at every point, and there is much clearing up of obvious falsehoods from other quarters. Not too much light shed on anything one couldn't already glean from other sources, except for precise dating, and cross-referencing of sources, which is of interest only to musicologists, and not the general public.

A good book and a must-read for any Shostakovich aficionado, but not as good a read as Elizabeth Wilson.