A Shostakovich Companion - by Michael Mishra (Hardcover)

About the Book

Adopting a two-books-in-one format. The Shostakovich Companion combines a full-length, single-author examination of the life and compositional evolution of the Soviet Union's most famous composer; and a symposium in which a variety of analytical techniques is applied to selected Shostakovich works and genres. This is the first comprehensive English-language book in twenty-five years in which the primary emphasis is on musical issues, and the secondary emphasis is on the biographical and much-debated political issues.

The The Shostakovich Companion is divided into four parts. Part I considers the hermeneutic techniques that have been applied to Shostakovich's music, along with the various controversies surrounding his life and his relationship to Soviet politics. Part II comprises the book's central life-and-works discussion, uniting a comprehensive examination of Shostakovich's compositional evolution with a full account of his life. Coming from a variety of authors, the chapters in Part III demonstrate a cross-section of analytical techniques that may usefully be brought to bear upon Shostakovich's music. These range from literary and cinematically-based methods to the more traditional types of musical analysis. Part IV considers three independent but crucial aspects of Shostakovich's life: his contributions to the Soviet film industry, his career as a pianist, and his legacy and influence as a teacher.

Book Synopsis

Adopting a two-books-in-one format. The Shostakovich Companion combines a full-length, single-author examination of the life and compositional evolution of the Soviet Union's most famous composer; and a symposium in which a variety of analytical techniques is applied to selected Shostakovich works and genres. This is the first comprehensive English-language book in twenty-five years in which the primary emphasis is on musical issues, and the secondary emphasis is on the biographical and much-debated political issues.

The The Shostakovich Companion is divided into four parts. Part I considers the hermeneutic techniques that have been applied to Shostakovich's music, along with the various controversies surrounding his life and his relationship to Soviet politics. Part II comprises the book's central life-and-works discussion, uniting a comprehensive examination of Shostakovich's compositional evolution with a full account of his life. Coming from a variety of authors, the chapters in Part III demonstrate a cross-section of analytical techniques that may usefully be brought to bear upon Shostakovich's music. These range from literary and cinematically-based methods to the more traditional types of musical analysis. Part IV considers three independent but crucial aspects of Shostakovich's life: his contributions to the Soviet film industry, his career as a pianist, and his legacy and influence as a teacher.

Review Quotes

"The book is noteworthy for its evenhandedness; it does not dramatize Shostakovich's problems with the bureaucracy but makes clear how those problems affected the composer's life and the creation of his music. . . . Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals." --Choice

About the Author

MICHAEL MISHRA is Professor and Director of Orchestral Studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He was the First Prize winner of the 2003 Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition in Ukraine, and frequently performs in the Czech Republic, where he has conducted the Karlovy Vary Philharmonic, the Hradec Kralove Philharmonic, and at the Silesian State Opera. In 2001, he made his debut with the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Sofia, and has recently appeared with orchestras in Russia, Ukraine, Argentina, Austria, and in South Korea. He has presented papers at Shostakovich conferences in Glasgow, Cambridge, and London.