I’ve been lucky enough not only to review some wonderful volumes for Shiny New Books, but also to read some real treats from Notting Hill Editions. Those two strands coincided in this really outstanding book which I was ridiculously excited about reading and reviewing!
I have a bit of an obsession with Shostakovich anyway, so I was probably the ideal reader for this one… An absorbing, moving and thought-provoking mixture of memoir, musicology and history, I found it unputdownable. You can read my review over on Shiny here!
I should add here as a coda to my review that I learned after its publication that author Stephen Johnson has put a page of audio reference clips on his website, which would be a useful aid for anyone reading the book, particularly if they aren’t literate in musical notation (like me!)
The clips can be found here:
https://www.stephen-johnson.co.uk/shostakovitch-clips/
Apr 29, 2018 @ 16:35:33
Huge fan of Shostakovich — I journey TO cities to see his symphonies in concert 😉 Saw his 4th in Seattle and his 13th (with Yevgeny Yevtushenko who wrote the poems used in the symphony in attendance before his passing) in Houston, etc. — fantastic!
Apr 29, 2018 @ 21:06:28
Oh, now I’m *really* jealous! Yevtushenko! Wow…… *turns green*…..
Apr 29, 2018 @ 21:08:15
Yeah, he gave a talk before the concert. I had miserable seats somewhere near the back, but then again, I was a poor college student….
Apr 30, 2018 @ 08:42:31
OK, I’m even *more* jealous now. A miserable seat to see Yevtushenko is better than none….