DSCH 21 Book Review - Memories of Shostakovich

Memories of Shostakovich
Interviews with the composer's children by the Rev. Michael Ardov
Translated by Rosanna Kelly and Michael Meylac
London: Short Books, 2004. ISBN-1-904095-64-X, 191 pages

Julia Zarankin

Michael Ardov regales his readers with a compilation of interviews with Dmitri Shostakovich's children, Maxim and Galina, in order to present a fuller, and arguably more human, portrait of "a miraculous figure" who "had no equal among contemporary composers." Where Memories of Shostakovich may suffer from a lack of general historical context and background information, it makes up in its anecdotal and highly personal style. This book is of particular interest to a reader already familiar with the basics surrounding Shostakovich's life and music; the recollections provide a touching portrait of "the man behind the myth" and introduce us to the composer from an intimate, rather than academic, vantage point.

Memories of Shostakovich is a collection of fifty-four vignette-like chapters that roughly follow the chronology of Shostakovich's life. Though reminiscences by the composer's children, Maxim and Galina, comprise the bulk of the chapters, there are also a fair number of quotations from memoirs of Shostakovich (those quoted in the book are from Alexander Gauk, Boris Khaikin, Grigory Sneerson, Sofia Khentova and L.I. Sofiysky), as well as correspondences with his contemporaries, and in particular with Isaak Glikman. If the book were designed for a common reader, and not a Shostakovich enthusiast, one would expect better arrangement, organization and packaging of the recollections. Frequently these appear haphazard, and a few editorial comments or notes elucidating the importance or the decision behind the inclusion of certain anecdotes would have helped the book read as a structured whole rather than a series of randomly strung-together vignettes. The book also includes photographs from the Shostakovich family archive; unfortunately their poor quality and under-written captions prevent the reader's full enjoyment and appreciation. The concluding glossary, though helpful, could have benefited from more detailed entries.

A friend of the Shostakovich children since the late 1950s, Michael Ardov informs his readers that his particular portrait of Dmitri Shostakovich will be nothing short of a hagiographic one. The reader needs to accept this premise from the outset, and should not expect to come away with a critical or analytic reading of the composer's life. Indeed, such an approach offers one notable advantage: the reader puts down the book feeling a greater sense of intimacy and awareness of the composer as a human - an avid football fan, a volleyball referee, a devoted friend, a masterful correspondent, an exceptional teacher and fervent supporter of young composers; and above all, a man who resisted ideological submission in every facet of his life.

The visual dimension of Memories of Shostakovich remains its most thrilling aspect: the reader witnesses Shostakovich in the act of composing at his desk at the dacha in Komarovo, while his children abscond with his pencils and ruler. Half a century later, commenting with awe on Shostakovich's compassionate support of his son's juvenile attempts at composition, Maxim says: "He would sit and write. I would take a piece of special paper and, imitating him, begin drawing dots with tails. Then I would go up to him and ask him to play the notes I had written. Father would sit down obediently at the piano and try to play the musical abracadabra which had come from my childish hand."

A rabid sports fan, Galina informs us that Shostakovich had a particular soft spot for football: "he not only knew every footballer's name by heart but he also kept records to compare the match results." Meticulous in every aspect, Shostakovich's attention to detail translated into everyday life. Maxim laments the loss of his father's daybooks and calendars which displayed perhaps the finest example of his intermingling of life and work: "not only were there notes on his friends' birthdays and routine details, but also references to his creative work. For example to improve this or that passage in such and such an opus check the alto part, and so on."

Through Galina's recollections of their life in 1948 when Shostakovich's music was declared "formalist," and virtually became unplayable by the Central Committee's Decree, the reader witnesses a terrifyingly ironic scene: while Shostakovich lives out the horrific drama of the decree, Maxim is forced to study and commit its details to memory at school.

Since the Committee's decree left Shostakovich jobless and unable to teach at the Conservatory, he began to support himself and his family by writing film music. This leads Ardov to relate a wonderful anecdote where Shostakovich informs an incredulous Indian film composer that he composes melodies without the help of an assistant. Awestruck, the Indian composer replies "Do you indeed? You must even know the notes!"

Recalling his father's terrible illness, Maxim stresses Shostakovich's creative drive, even during his last days. Ardov leaves us with a portrait of Shostakovich as a valiant and courageous fighter - one who thrived in the face of adversity: prior to his illness, during the 1960s, when he was publicly ostracized and humiliated, Shostakovich said "Even if they cut off both my hands, I shall hold the pen between my teeth and go on writing music just the same."

The most powerful elements of the book remain the focused memories themselves. In conducting interviews with Maxim and Galina, Ardov strove to clarify and add texture to aspects of Shostakovich's correspondence with Isaak Glikman. Ideally, for an even more complete portrait of the composer, Memories of Shostakovich and Story of a Friendship: The letters of Dmitry Shostakovich to Isaak Glikman (2001; reviewed in DSCH No. 16) should be read in tandem.