THE NEW SHOSTAKOVICH

by Ian MacDonald

(Fourth Estate, 1990; Northeastern University Press, 1990; Oxford University Press, 1991)
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"I highly recommend Ian MacDonald's book The New Shostakovich.
It is one of the best biographies of Dmitri Shostakovich I have read."
Maxim Shostakovich

"Dear Mr MacDonald, thank you for your wonderful book on DDS..."
Note to the author from Vladimir Ashkenazy

"I have read your excellent book The New Shostakovich...
My dear friend Maxim Shostakovich reminded me about the book
by saying: 'It is the best book written about my father...'"
Letter to the author from Seppo Heikinheimo

"Remarkable ... gets under the skin of Shostakovich and understands
the perversity of the Soviet system and what it has inflicted on humanity."
Letter to the author from Semyon Bychkov

"The best biography of the composer available.
A formal lesson to Western writers on post-1917 Russia,
whether their subject is music or life itself."
Andrei Navrozov

"Brilliant."
Marina Ledin

"Compelling ... a portrait of a creative artist
tormented and harried by the random assaults of Stalinism."
Andrew Clements

"Superb ... This compassionate and very knowledgeable book
is humbling in its understanding of how far an individual can be pushed
by the coercive forces of a grotesque, perhaps insane, authority."
Sydney Morning Herald

"Persuasively argued and forceful ...
A valid, politically driven reconsideration of the composer's works."
Harlow Robinson, New York Times Review of Books

"A monumental achievement
... impressive evidence that the authentic Shostakovich
is not the same composer described by official Soviet propaganda."
Steve Martland

"A fine reassessment and excellent biography ... Not only a good read but also
about as objective as it is possible to be now. A remarkable achievement."
Manchester Evening News

"Fascinating ... Manages, better than any previous publication,
to make connections between Shostakovich's work and the works
of other Soviet artists whom he admired and was influenced by."
Times Educational Supplement

"Breathes new life into the story ... The underlying thesis,
that an understanding of Shostakovich's music is impossible without a proper
appreciation of its social and historical context, is incontrovertible."
New Statesman

"Anyone concerned with Soviet music, twentieth-century music,
arts in politics, and politics in art, will be interested in this book."
Gunther Schuller

"The most thorough study of this enigmatic figure
yet undertaken in English (or Russian, for that matter)."
Richard Dyer, Boston Sunday Globe

"Mr MacDonald has gone some way to solving
what could be described as the Enigma Variations of Russian music."
Liverpool Daily Post

"A considerable tour de force of musical and social analysis
which will hold its own for some time to come."
Norman Lebrecht

"A work of great energy and passion ... a crusading book."
Tempo

"Riveting... harrowing... superb."
Classic CD

"Clearly organized and superbly written ... If you really want to hear
Shostakovich's music and understand what is going on beyond the notes,
you must read The New Shostakovich."
American Record Guide


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Another book by Ian MacDonald.