Product Description

As the Soviet Union’s foremost composer, Shostakovich’s status in the West has always been problematic. Regarded by some as a collaborator, and by others as a symbol of moral resistance, both he and his music met with approval and condemnation in equal measure. The demise of the Communist state has, if anything, been accompanied by a bolstering of his reputation, but critical engagement with his multi-faceted achievements has been patchy. This Companion offers a new starting point and a guide for readers who seek a fuller understanding of Shostakovich’s place in the history of music. Bringing together an international team of scholars, the book brings up-to-date research to bear on the full range of Shostakovich’s musical output, addressing scholars, students and all those interested in this complex, iconic figure.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #513288 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
'… the Companion is unique, challenging and highly informative – a valuable addition to the Shostakovich-focused bookshelves and an entertaining read …' DSCH Journal

About the Author
Pauline Fairclough is Lecturer in Music at the University of Bristol.

David Fanning is Professor of Music at the University of Manchester.

Customer Reviews

A little too much arid musicology
It is good news that musicologists are finally taking Shostakovich seriously - for too long he was viewed as not much more than a compromised purveyor of programmatic Soviet kitsch. This book is largely written by Shostakovich specialists hostile to Testimony - there's an unspoken party-line here, which is probably worth knowing if you're going to invest. While there's much useful material here, and doggedly honest efforts to analyse the scores bar-by-bar, it does seem that there is something of an unwillingness to look beyond the notes, which lets the book as a whole down and generally makes for a pretty dull read - unfortunate for such an exciting composer. Certainly the idea of Shostakovich as a dissident in the Solzhenitsyn mould - scaborously (and bravely) satirising tyranny one moment, mourning the loss of millions of victims the next - features not at all.

So - good though it is to have another Shostakovich book on the shelves, and despite some excellent pieces (for example by John Riley on Shostakovich and film) this hardly displaces the truly essential 'The New Shostakovich' by Ian Macdonald as an in-depth overview of his work.