The Sound of Utopia: Musicians in the Time of Stalin
- Author: Krielaars, Michel
Revelatory... poignant
The Sound of Utopia: Musicians in the Time of Stalin
- Author: Krielaars, Michel
Purchase product
Revelatory... poignant
About
'An illuminating account of how the Soviet system waged its war on musicians' Financial Times
When Stalin came to power, making music became a dangerous endeavour. Russian composers now had to create work that served the socialist state, and all artistic production was scrutinized for potential subversion.
The Sound of Utopia offers a vivid portrait of Soviet musicians and composers struggling to create art in this climate of terror. Some successfully toed the ideological line, diluting their work in the process; others ended up facing the Gulag or even death. With pace and verve, Michel Krielaars tells stories of intrigue, betrayal and stunning reversals of fortune, from the gay popular singer arrested at the height of his popularity to the blacklisted composer who wrote music on scrap paper in a forced labour camp.
Dramatic and immersive, this is a rich exploration of the absurdity and the richness of Soviet musical life - and a tribute to those who crafted sublime melodies under the darkest circumstances.
Contents
- Note on Transliteration xi
- Prologue 1
- 1 Richter’s Secret 7
- 2 Yellow Shoes and Fancy Cars 46
- 3 The Lost Notes 101
- 4 The Russian Vera Lynn 125
- 5 Celebrated, Persecuted, Rehabilitated 147
- 6 The Vanished Singer 179
- 7 A Nun at the Keyboard 210
- 8 The Lost Legacy 230
- 9 Stalin’s Last Lackey 249
- 10 Solidarity with Dissidents 279
- Epilogue 307
- Acknowledgements 311
- Bibliography 313
Awards and reviews
Revelatory... poignant
The stories Krielaars tells, in chattily accessible prose, are fascinating
Ten cradle-to-grave pen-portraits of Stalin's musicians, told with bantering brio... Krielaars has done an admirable job rescuing his lesser-known subjects from obscurity
A story of loss and terror, but also resilience and the consolation of music
Vivid, thoughtful... Engagingly written
