TY - JOUR
AU - Morrison, Simon
AB - Music & Letters,Vol. 91 No. 1,  The Author (2010). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. doi:10.1093/ml/gcp066, available online at www.ml.oxfordjournals.org Review-Article BY SIMON MORRISON* SEVERAL HISTORIES OF SOVIET MUSIC EXIST, but many are hobbled by an absence of primary-source documentation about crucial events: the circumstances surrounding the denunciation of Dmitry Shostakovich in 1936, for example, or the anti-formalist resolution of 1948. The gaps tend to be filled by uncritical references to uncritical sources. These include the uncorroborated testimony of eyewitnesses, partial (rather than complete) publications of compositions, and unchallenged recollections. Every survivor of the Stalinist periodçthe worst of all times in terms of thought controlç seems to have a sorrowful tale to tell of censorship and deprivation, sometimes supple- mented with fanciful accounts of defiance. Though the system was monstrous, it did offer perks, as evidenced by the career of the eminent cellist and (later) conductor Mstislav Rostropovich (1927^2007). In his youth, Rostropovich received the privilege of showcasing his talent at foreign competitions and the opportunity to serve as a cul- tural diplomat. An official document from the Russian State Archive of Social-Political History (RGASPI) describes his education, political non-affiliation, and the places he visited in 
TI - Rostropovich's Recollections
JO - Music and Letters
DO - 10.1093/ml/gcp066
DA - 2010-02-28
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/rostropovich-s-recollections-u3doUMU5Gw
SP - 83
EP - 90
VL - 91
IS - 1
DP - DeepDyve
ER -