Between 1929 and 1970, Dmitri Shostakovich wrote almost 40 film scores of Soviet films, from Stalinist cult epics to classical literary adaptations. His long and distinguished cinema career has hitherto been overlooked. Combining analysis and anecdote, John Riley provides this first account to examine the scores and their contexts in the films for which they were written, the ways in which contemporary events shaped both films and scores, and how he thought about, developed and applied his film music.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
'Riley performs a valuable service in illuminating a "life in film" that has been largely ignored by musicologists and by film scholars who have been reluctant to take it seriously.' - TLS "The renaissance in Russian and Soviet cinema studies continues with the appearance of two fine new books in IB Tauris's KINOfiles Filmmaker's Companions series." "these well-researched studies help to bring crucial dilemmas in Soviet cultural history into sharper focus." "Riley produces some wonderfully evocative descriptions of Shostakovich's work that show a sure grasp of musical logic and make us want to find the scores and recordings for ourselves" "analytic energy and wealth of anecdote" "excellent and highly readable" The Morning Star: "These film scores are not just incidental music but form an integral part of the direction and production of the films." "It is hoped that John Riley's excellent book will not only popularise Shostakovich's film music but also bring about a revival of interest in the films themselves..." Professor David Fanning - University of Manchester: "Thanks to John Riley we now have a much fuller picture of the tortuous fate of many of the films themselves, as well as a judicious weighing of their cinematic and musical merits. To all this the author brings not only his expertise as a film historian - drawing on Russian as well as Western sources - but also a wide-ranging musical knowledge and penetrating intelligence." - Moscow Times 'This book fills a major gap in Shostakovich commentary and has much to offer anyone interested in Soviet culture.' - David Fanning, SEER
About the Author
John Riley works at the British Universities Film and Video Council.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
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Shostakovich's film music,
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This review is from: Dmitri Shostakovich: A Life in Film: The Filmmaker's Companion 3 (The Kinofiles Filmmaker's Companions) (Paperback)
This is a very well-written discussion of Shostakovich's music for film composed throughout much of his life. The author has splendid command of the subject. Although it is rather specialized, anyone interested in Shostakovich's music and biography will find it interesting.
Nora Klein Houston, TX
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Shostakovich's generally accepted first cinema score is New Babylon, but on 14 March 1929, four days before it opened, the Leningrad premiere of Erwin Dressel's opera Der arme Kolumbus had included two extra pieces by Shostakovich, one of them for an interpolated animated film that was an anti-American plea for international peace. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New Babylon, The Golden Mountains, Lady Macbeth, The Great Citizen, King Lear, The Fall of Berlin, Simple People, The Unforgettable Year, Soviet Union, Young Guard, Stalin Prize, The Youth of Maxim, The First Echelon, Fifth Symphony, Katerina Izmailova, Cold War, Five Days, Tenth Symphony, United States, Boris Godunov, Eleventh Symphony, Karl Marx, Seventh Symphony, Sofia Perovskaia, Volochaev Days New!
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Shostakovich's generally accepted first cinema score is New Babylon, but on 14 March 1929, four days before it opened, the Leningrad premiere of Erwin Dressel's opera Der arme Kolumbus had included two extra pieces by Shostakovich, one of them for an interpolated animated film that was an anti-American plea for international peace. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New Babylon, The Golden Mountains, Lady Macbeth, The Great Citizen, King Lear, The Fall of Berlin, Simple People, The Unforgettable Year, Soviet Union, Young Guard, Stalin Prize, The Youth of Maxim, The First Echelon, Fifth Symphony, Katerina Izmailova, Cold War, Five Days, Tenth Symphony, United States, Boris Godunov, Eleventh Symphony, Karl Marx, Seventh Symphony, Sofia Perovskaia, Volochaev Days New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 57
books:
See all 57 books this book cites
- Battleship Potemkin by Sergei Eisenstein on 5 pages
- Film Music (Literature of Cinema Ser) by Kurt London in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Stalinism and Soviet Cinema by Derek Spring in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Ivan the Terrible (Pts. 1-3) by Sergei Eisenstein on page 57, and page 76
- Shostakovich: A Life by Laurel E. Fay in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 57 books this book cites
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