A Shostakovich Casebook [Paperback]

A major event.... This Casebook is not only about Volkovs Testimony, it is about music old and new in the 20th century, about the cultural legacy of one of that centurys most extravagant social experiments, and what we have to learn from them, not only what they ought to learn from us. Caryl Emerson, Princeton University

In 1979, the alleged memoirs of legendary composer Dmitry Shostakovich (19061975) were published as Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitry Shostakovich As Related to and Edited by Solomon Volkov. Since its appearance, however, Testimony has been the focus of controversy in Shostakovich studies as doubts were raised concerning its authenticity and the role of its editor, Volkov, in creating the book.

A Shostakovich Casebook presents 25 essays, interviews, newspaper articles, and reviewsmany newly available since the collapse of the Soviet Unionthat review the case of Shostakovich. In addition to authoritatively reassessing Testimonys genesis and reception, the authors in this book address issues of political influence on musical creativity and the role of the artist within a totalitarian society. Internationally known contributors include Richard Taruskin, Laurel E. Fay, and Irina Antonovna Shostakovich, the composers widow. This volume combines a balanced reconsideration of the Testimony controversy with an examination of what the controversy signifies for all music historians, performers, and thoughtful listeners.

Malcolm Hamrick Brown, a world-renowned authority on Russian and Soviet music, is the founding editor of the Russian Music Studies series at Indiana University Press.

Preliminary Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments
Notes on Transliteration and on Translation
Introduction

Part I.

1. Shostakovich versus Volkov: Whose Testimony? (1980)
Laurel E. Fay

2. Volkov's Testimony Reconsidered (2002)
Laurel E. Fay

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