Great Masters: Shostakovich His Life & Music by Robert Greenberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My god, what a lecture. Greenberg went over and above by showing Shostakovich in his time and place.

From the very start, Shostakovich is beset by some of the most horrible times in Soviet history, right out of the famines of Lenin, the atrocities of Stalin, and always, the hounding pressures of the politburo. We know, after the fact, that Shostakovich never felt in tune with the live and death finality of political necessity. He had a gun to his head, saying all the right things, attending all the right meetings, but he was rebellious.

Oh, he was REBELLIOUS. He was constantly in trouble -- and it was all because of the MUSIC, ITSELF. He made destructive commentaries, using very controversial stories, material, poetry, even making Stalin sound like a little roaring mouse, and Shostakovich came SO close to getting a bag over his head SO many times.

Amazing. Utterly amazing.

This little, nervous, shy man is a true wonder and an inspiration. And on top of all that, he wrote some REAL BANGERS. I always liked his symphonies when growing up, but now, I'm just filled with awe.



View all my reviews