In 1948 the first severe crash occurred in my life when Stalin put out his decree on 'formalism.' There was a bulletin board in the Moscow Conservatory. They posted the decree, which said Shostakovich's compositions and Prokofiev's were no longer to be played.
~Mstislav Rostropovich
One more quote:
Poor Dimitri Shostakovich: In the Soviet Union, he was condemned as being too radical; in the West, for being too conservative. He could please no one but the musical public.
~Edward Abbey
Polish quintet Cellostrada with Shostakovich's Waltz 2 from Jazz Suite No. 2:
Amazing how cool five cellos can work together. Beautiful piece.
ReplyDeleteDeemed at the same time "radical" *and* "conservative"...remember this the next time you read a critic's review.