Shostakovich

by Elizabeth Wilson

Release Date: 21 August, 1995

Edition: Paperback

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great biography

I highly recommend this book. Initially, I had some reservations about the format: Wilson went to people who knew or had contact with Shostakovich and had them write essays about their experiences, which she then put together to form the book. My hesitation stemmed from the fear that the book would read like a series of seperate articles, rather than a continuous biography, but fortunately they were not realized. The book reads like a biography with a continuous and logical flow. Because most of the accounts are firsthand, there is an certain amount of intimacy and detail that even the most thoroughly researched biographies lack. Wilson pretty much lets the individual contributors speak for themselves, only inserting paragraphs of related historical and political events where necessary for context. Although the book is a biography about Shostakovich's life, work, and personality, it also drops a few clues about performance of his works. Wilson humbly declares that the book is probably not the 'definitive' biography of Shostakovich but that she felt compelled to write it because most if not all of Shostakovich's contemporaries are getting up there in years, but I'd say the book is a definite must-read for anyone interested in Shostakovich's music.

An enthralling journey through the life of Shostakovich

Elizabeth Wilson has compiled a series of wonderful reminiscences about Shostakovich, which paint a rounded and sometimes thrilling picture of the composer's life. The most wonderful thing of all is being able to purchase the music, and to experience (often in original recording) what is being described. Some of these recordings are available on amazon.com

Elizabeth Wilson has so much original material in this book, and one feels that one is on this voyage of discovery with her.

For anyone who loves Russian music, or is interested in 20th century Russia, this is a superb insight.

Paul Foulkes-Arellano, London, March 2000