Mitya
Written and illustrated by Dick Wolf.
61 pages, sketches in colour and black & white.
Trafford Publishing, 2005.
ISBN: 1 4120 5034 0.

Part fantasy, part fact, the appearance of this charming book, very much a personal project combining the disciplines of story-telling, musical and political history of the twentieth century and impressionistic artwork, comes in the wake of another surprisingly 'lightweight' tome, Memories of Shostakovich by the Reverend Michael Ardov (reviewed in DSCH Journal No. 21). Here the term implying less-than-heavy refers to the esoteric and academic foundations contrasting with those of other vying volumes from such authorities as Volkov, Brown, Fay et al. Here the reader is invited simply to experience the tale of the young Shostakovich through to his wartime role and the Seventh Symphony. The reader here could be ninety or he could be nine; Wolf's style and approach never descends to condescension and always maintains a lucid and appropriate interest in the subject at hand.

On a less positive note, the uninitiated reader might well fall for any number of traps and of clichés unwittingly set by the author—over-simplification of the role of the artist within the totalitarian state, likewise the compositional process and the painting-over of cracks in Shostakovich's own personal life. But this is NOT a 'true' biography and doesn't ever purport to be so; it is attractive, sympathetically conceived writing combined with highly imaginative sketches, examples of which are included below.

But why, this book—now, and in this form? Why stop in the 1940s?

Wolf's own words to DSCH:

"What began it all was the music. Although I am primarily a visual artist, music has always moved me most directly and forcefully. My first encounter with Russian music was with the symphonies of Tchaikovsky. The grandeur and excitement of his work captivated me at an early age. As regards other music; also at an early age I can remember the broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. over the radio every Saturday morning. My mother and I used to listen faithfully to these events. Other composers I came to enjoy once I could afford a record player or tickets to concerts were Mahler, Brahms, Chopin, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Puccini, Rachmaninov and of course Dmitri Shostakovich.

"So far as conceiving sketches for this particular book Mitya, I came up with the idea following two visits to Russia. The first was a trip in the summer of 1994 to Moscow and St. Petersburg. The second trip was limited to a winter trip to St. Petersburg with a visit (with Russian guide) to the birthplace of D.D.S. on Podolskaya street, the composer's early home at Nikolaevsky street (now Marat) and to the St. Petersburg Conservatory, the Marinskii Theatre and to the Philharmonic Hall.

"The story Mitya was conceived pretty much in tandem with the pictures.  Soon I was plunged into what was to become an eight-year extended series of writes and re-writes of materials I had somehow digested up to that time. These materials included the marvellous works of Volkov, Wilson, Lukyanova, Roseberry, MacDonald, Norris, Stevenson, Feofanov and Ho, and Fay. Many of the references and anecdotes compiled by Elizabeth Wilson were particularly helpful.

"The entire life of Dmitri Shostakovich came to me to symbolise the epic adventure of outstanding generosity and courage of the Russian people in the face of incredible suffering.

"In 1965, while attending graduate studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art, I put together a suite of 18 prints with pictures of various composers of classical music with quotations by them of varied views on the art of music. In compiling these quotes I was soon drawn to the comments of Dmitri Shostakovich and so later I dedicated the suite to him for his forthcoming 60th birthday. Dmitri Shostakovich was such a generous and kind individual that he sent me a reply of thanks in his own hand. The original suite is now housed in the rare books room of the Buffalo Public Library [USA].

"In writing this story and after numerous re-writes, I decided to limit the story to roughly the first half of Shostakovich's life. It begins with Mitya at nine years of age and ends with the invasion of Russia by Germany in 1941. The writing of this story is fictional yet based on many facts. Because I wished to appeal to a young adult audience I felt the need to use a certain degree of fantasy in the telling (thus the runaway piano). Having no musical knowledge I nevertheless believed that this story needed to be told to help explain how classical culture is such a vital element in our education.

"Most of the visual material for this book was sketched and completed for that purpose. Not all of the sketches were actually used in the final work, however. Several paintings were included to illustrate in a more general way, the times.

"The main message of this book:

"That a young man finds the means to bring a message of hope and courage to a great city during a terrible attack. This message proves vital but not verbal. Music alone, without words, sounds an alarm within the city then under attack.

"From its beginnings at a piano in an otherwise quiet Russian apartment, we quickly proceed to scenes of turmoil and danger. An early morning rush takes our young Mitya and his friend swiftly over the many bridges of a great city to final safety at the other end. After visiting an elderly crippled artist, Mitya endures a wintry ride back home and a brief battle with schoolyard bullies. We then go to a new career as a movie piano player, a concert performer and composer of a new symphony. Rapidly now we follow Mitya's adventures as composer, victim of the secret police, through numerous musical endeavours and finally as a champion of the city with his mighty Seventh Symphony.

"This book is unique in that it is the only biography of Dmitri Shostakovich to be fully illustrated with drawings and paintings by the author. Many other fine books have been written about this great man but are illustrated with photos."

Richard W. Wolf (the author) was trained in the fields of Art and of Art Education. He held a two-year scholarship to the Art Institute of Buffalo, a Bachelor's degree in Art Education From S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo, a Master of Fine Arts degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, and a Professorship at Eastern Connecticut State University where he taught for 23 years.

Alan Mercer
Top

DSCH No. 23.
Copyright © 2005 DSCH Journal.
All Rights Reserved.