There was an endless debate (fight) in the late '90's as to whether Shostakovich was a party-liner or hated the regime. Solomon Volkov's book Testimony claims to be DSCH's own words. Many think it was fabricated by Volkov. Any thoughts on this?
..or on Shostakovich's music in general? thx Dave
Soviet cogitations: 1
Defected to the U.S.S.R.: 12 Jul 2013, 11:44 Ideology: Marxism-Leninism New Comrade (Say hi & be nice to me!)
From what I understand, Shostakovich hated the Stalin regime, and the Stalin regime was equally loathing of him. Stalin watched an opera of Shostakovich's and laughed at it.
I think his relations with the other leaders were better, but certainly not wonderful. He was born into a bourgeois family before the revolution. He ended up having a fit when he forced to join the Communist Party to be the Chairman of the Composer's Guild or whatever it was called. Huge fan of his work, though. |
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