Sought: One Reasonably Trustworthy Shostakovich Biography

[Thropplenoggin]

I keep waiting for someone to (figuratively) defenestrate me for my comment re. 'a G minor dominant 7th in the Lydian mode'. Don't tell me that's actually correct?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

'a G minor dominant 7th in the Lydian mode'. Don't tell me that's actually correct?

Hmm.

Well, a "Dominant Seventh in g minor" is D, F#, A, C.

"In the Lydian mode" means that this chord appears where the surrounding Music is built around the notes F, G, A, B, C, D, E. (In which case the F# of the above chord is a chromatic.)

Or it might mean a minor seventh chord built on the G major chord = G, B, D, F; which "fits" into the Lydian mode; it's a Dominant Seventh of C major, suggesting a modulation from F Lydian to C major (or, possibly, c minor). What's the context, Thropple - it wouldn't be the A minor String Quartet Op 132 , would it?

[Thropplenoggin]

Hmm.

Well, a "Dominant Seventh in g minor" is D, F#, A, C.

"In the Lydian mode" means that this chord appears where the surrounding Music is built around the notes F, G, A, B, C, D, E. (In which case the F# of the above chord is a chromatic.)

Or it might mean a minor seventh chord built on the G major chord = G, B, D, F; which "fits" into the Lydian mode; it's a Dominant Seventh of C major, suggesting a modulation from F Lydian to C major (or, possibly, c minor). What's the context, Thropple - it wouldn't be the A minor String Quartet Op 132 , would it?

Thanks for the extrapolations, FHG. I made the quote up o'the spot as exempli gratia of Lockwood's (to me) esoteric musicological style.

[richardfinegold]

Shostakovich biography is so mired in controversy and factions I'm tempted to say read the lot or read none of them.

Having said that, though, I'd definitely recommend Elizabeth Wilson's book unreservedly. Personally, I think that there is more than a grain of truth in Testimony and with the likes of Maxim DSCH and Rostropovich among those who agree you just can't ignore it. Setting all doubts aside, it is a rattling good read anyway you look at it. I've read it numerous times.

Read Wilson, MacDonald and Testimony and make up your own mind.

And enjoy the music!

I completely agree. I have read Testimony, which I found to be riveting, and Fay's book, which is a snoozer. Testimony just has to much stuff that sounds
true. It sounds like a guy sitting in his house with a glass of vodka and spilling his guts. I can believe that some liberties may have been taken here or there but
my gut is that about 98% of it rings true. If nothing else, Throp, read Testimony for the sections that discuss Glazunov, Rimsky-Korsakoff, Mussourgsky and Borodin, which is about a third of the book.
Most of the Volkov bashers, such as Richard Taruskin, seem to have some political agenda of their own and find Volkov to be an troublesome obstacle to their cherished beliefs. Fay's book seems to be an effort to supply only what can be verfiied by multiple independent sources--"Just the facts, maam." It seemingly never occurred to her that someone living in a totalitarian system who is subject to intense scrutiny may not want to be sharing their innermost thoughts
with with every Boris and Vladimir that they may encounter.
So there is no one single biography that I am aware of that will set the record straight. Testimony is a must, if for no other reason so that you can have a feel for what subsequent writers are reacting against. Read at least one other biography to get another viewpoint and then the rest depends upon your interest level and the quality of your lending library (do they have English language libraries in France?).

[ahinton]

I am pleased to see what is approaching a fairly general consensus about Wilson's book which is indeed as John Pickard says it is. No one will ever get to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about this monumentally great composer - as no doubt Wilson herself recognises as well if not better than anyone - but her study is probably as close as anyone is ever likely to get. Volkov, on the other hand, even when he comes up with half-truths or near-truths, all too often conveys the impression that he's making it up as he goes along, hence Maxim Shostakovich's coincidentally feeling able broadly to endorse some of what he wrote - but the sheer privacy of DDS, both imposed by necessity and coming naturally to him (as it did from an early age well before any evidence of Stalinist oppression in his country), was always going to make a thorough assessment and account of his personal and creative life more problematic than most others'.

[Thropplenoggin]

I completely agree. I have read Testimony, which I found to be riveting, and Fay's book, which is a snoozer. Testimony just has to much stuff that sounds
true. It sounds like a guy sitting in his house with a glass of vodka and spilling his guts. I can believe that some liberties may have been taken here or there but
my gut is that about 98% of it rings true. If nothing else, Throp, read Testimony for the sections that discuss Glazunov, Rimsky-Korsakoff, Mussourgsky and Borodin, which is about a third of the book.
Most of the Volkov bashers, such as Richard Taruskin, seem to have some political agenda of their own and find Volkov to be an troublesome obstacle to their cherished beliefs. Fay's book seems to be an effort to supply only what can be verfiied by multiple independent sources--"Just the facts, maam." It seemingly never occurred to her that someone living in a totalitarian system who is subject to intense scrutiny may not want to be sharing their innermost thoughts
with with every Boris and Vladimir that they may encounter.
So there is no one single biography that I am aware of that will set the record straight. Testimony is a must, if for no other reason so that you can have a feel for what subsequent writers are reacting against. Read at least one other biography to get another viewpoint and then the rest depends upon your interest level and the quality of your lending library (do they have English language libraries in France?).

Thanks for your thorough response, Richard. You have certainly convinced me not to dismiss Volkov out of hand, as I was perhaps liable to do. As for English language lending libraries in France, most French public libraries have a (generally) meagre selection of English fiction, with the French favourite Paul Auster perhaps being the best stocked of all. I generally order books through Amazon or Abebooks. So the Volkov will probably be a second-hand purchase further down the line.

I have now ordered a relatively cheap version of Wilson , which will please most of this thread's contributors.