Solomon Volkov
Encyclopedia
Solomon Moiseyevich Volkov (born 17 April 1944 in Uroteppa, Tajik SSR
) is a Russia
n journalist and musicologist
. He is best known for Testimony
, which was published in 1979 following his emigration from the Soviet Union
in 1976. He claimed that the book was the memoir of Dmitri Shostakovich
, as related to him by the composer.
), Tajikistan
. He studied violin at the Leningrad Conservatory, receiving his diploma with honors in 1967. He continued graduate work in musicology
there until 1971. He also served as artistic director of the Experimental Studio of Chamber Opera.
He came to the United States in June 1976. Early on, he was a Research Associate at the Russian Institute of Columbia University
. He lives in New York City
with his wife, Marianna (née Tiisnekka), a pianist and photographer. He is also a United States citizen.
Since taking residence in the United States, he has written various articles for The New York Times
, The New Republic
, Musical America
, The Musical Quarterly
and other publications.
Some have asserted the book's authenticity due to Shostakovich's son Maxim
's alleged about-face on the accuracy of the book. After he defected to the West in 1981, he told the Sunday Times that it was a book "about my father, not by him". However, in a BBC
television interview with composer Michael Berkeley
on 27 September 1986, Maxim admitted, "It's true. It's accurate.... The basis of the book is correct." Fay has alleged that whilst Maxim admits that the general context of the times and what it would have been to live as a composer under Soviet rule are generally correct, that Shostakovich's individual portrait was "grossly miscontrued", and hence, whilst praising the book for highlighting the potential hardships of living under totalitarianism, nevertheless has repeatedly maintained his claim that "it [Testimony] was a book about my father, not by him" — in short, that in his opinion the book cannot be treated as Shostakovich's memoirs, so much as a book about what Shostakovich may have been like.
Contrary to Fay, Maxim's statements and actions after the fall of the Soviet regime in 1991 reflect his personal endorsement of Testimony and Volkov. To Dmitry Feofanov, Maxim emphasized repeatedly in 1997: "I am a supporter both of Testimony and of Volkov." Maxim also was the guest of honor at the launching of the Czech edition of the memoirs in 2005 and, with his sister Galina, contributed an introduction to the second Russian edition of Volkov's Shostakovich and Stalin in 2006, which includes the following: "We, Shostakovich’s children, who watched his life pass before our eyes, express our profound gratitude to Solomon Volkov for his marvelous work, the naked truth of which will undoubtedly help our contemporaries and future generations better to see the difficult fate of our unforgettable father, and through it, better to understand his music."
Shostakovich's widow's later reaction to the book was one of skepticism: "Volkov saw Dmitrich three or maybe four times. . . . He was never an intimate friend of the family—he never had dinner with us here, for instance . . . . I don't see how he could have gathered enough material from Dmitrich for such a thick book." The critics of Testimony claim that this further calls into question the book's authenticity. However, it should be noted that Volkov had a 15-year professional relationship with Dmitri Shostakovich. It started in 1960 when Volkov reviewed Shostakovich's 8th String Quartet
, and Shostakovich wrote a preface for Volkov's book Molodyye Kompozitory Leningrada ("Young Composers of Leningrad") in 1971. In addition, Irina Shostakovich is now the only member of the Shostakovich family who denounces Testimony. Son Maxim and daughter Galina (who lived longer with the composer than did his third wife) endorse it.
Although Volkov remains reluctant to respond to criticisms of himself and of Testimony, on February 15, 1999 he appeared with Vladimir Ashkenazy
, Allan B. Ho, and Dmitry Feofanov at an open forum at the Mannes College of Music to answer questions about the memoirs. Unfortunately, none of his principal critics attended this session. Volkov also has provided input into the books by Ho and Feofanov.
Despite translation into 30 different languages, the Russian original has never been published, prompting speculation from the critics that Volkov is afraid to publish it in Russian because "Anybody who has beard Dmitri Dmitrievich's living voice even once would realize right away that it is a forgery." The copyrights of Testimony, however, belong to Volkov's American publisher, and it is not up to Volkov to allow or to deny a Russian-language publication of Testimony. Moreover, Maxim and Galina Shostakovich and many others have read copies the original Russian typescript and believe the book to be genuine. In an interview with Feofanov in 1995, Galina stated:
Volkov continues to affirm that everything in Testimony came from Shostakovich's mouth, but some believe that it is a pastiche from other sources as well, which has caused them to take the book with a grain of salt. Significantly, recent Shostakovich research (such as the discovery of a fragment of the original version of the Ninth Symphony) has tended to corroborate what is stated in Testimony rather than the other way around.
, collected and published in 1998. He has also published volumes of memoirs with other major figures, including Balanchine's Tchaikovsky: Conversations with Balanchine on his Life, Ballet and Music (1985) and From Russia to the West: the Musical Memoirs and Reminiscences of Nathan Milstein
(1990).
Tajik SSR
The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Tajik SSR for short, was one of the 15 republics that made up the Soviet Union. Located in Central Asia, the Tajik SSR was created on 5 December 1929 as a national entity for the Tajik people within the Soviet Union...
) is a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n journalist and musicologist
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
. He is best known for Testimony
Testimony (book)
Testimony is a book that was published in October 1979 by the Russian musicologist Solomon Volkov. He claimed that it was the memoirs of the composer Dmitri Shostakovich...
, which was published in 1979 following his emigration from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1976. He claimed that the book was the memoir of Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
, as related to him by the composer.
Life
Volkov was born in Uroteppa (Russian Ura-Tyube, now Istarawshan), near Leninabad (now KhujandKhujand
Khujand , also transliterated as Khudzhand, , formerly Khodjend or Khodzhent until 1936 and Leninabad until 1991, is the second-largest city of Tajikistan. It is situated on the Syr Darya River at the mouth of the Fergana Valley...
), Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
. He studied violin at the Leningrad Conservatory, receiving his diploma with honors in 1967. He continued graduate work in musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
there until 1971. He also served as artistic director of the Experimental Studio of Chamber Opera.
He came to the United States in June 1976. Early on, he was a Research Associate at the Russian Institute of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with his wife, Marianna (née Tiisnekka), a pianist and photographer. He is also a United States citizen.
Expertise
His primary area of expertise has been the history and aesthetics of Russian and Soviet music, as well as the psychology of musical perception and performance. He published numerous articles in scholarly and popular journals and wrote the book Young Composers of Leningrad in 1971. This book, which contained a preface by Shostakovich, was reportedly well-received.Since taking residence in the United States, he has written various articles for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, Musical America
Musical America
Musical America is the oldest American magazine on classical music. Presently it is a website with a weekly online magazine. It is currently published by UBM Global Trade.-History:...
, The Musical Quarterly
The Musical Quarterly
The Musical Quarterly is the oldest academic journal on music in America. Originally established in 1915 by Oscar Sonneck, the journal was edited by Sonneck until his death in 1928...
and other publications.
Controversy over Testimony
Testimony prompted a continuing debate over its authenticity and accuracy. Some say that the words of Dmitri Shostakovich are indeed presented in the book. Unfortunately it is difficult without access to Volkov's original notes (left behind when Volkov emigrated and apparently lost or destroyed) to ascertain where Shostakovich ends and Volkov possibly begins. Ever since the American scholar Laurel E. Fay demonstrated that the beginning of each chapter closely parallels earlier published texts by Shostakovich, musicologists have remained divided on the value of Testimony. Questions about Testimony's authenticity are summarized in Malcolm H. Brown's book A Shostakovich Casebook (2004), whereas a defense of the memoirs and their authenticity is presented in Allan B. Ho and Dmitry Feofanov's Shostakovich Reconsidered (1998). The latter also have written The Shostakovich Wars, a 220-page long response to Brown's Shostakovich Casebook.Some have asserted the book's authenticity due to Shostakovich's son Maxim
Maxim Shostakovich
Maxim Dmitrievich Shostakovich is a Russian conductor and pianist. He was the second child of Dmitri Shostakovich and Nina Varzar.Since 1975, he has conducted and popularised many of his father's lesser-known works....
's alleged about-face on the accuracy of the book. After he defected to the West in 1981, he told the Sunday Times that it was a book "about my father, not by him". However, in a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television interview with composer Michael Berkeley
Michael Berkeley
Michael Berkeley is a British composer and broadcaster on music.-Early life:His father was the composer Sir Lennox Berkeley...
on 27 September 1986, Maxim admitted, "It's true. It's accurate.... The basis of the book is correct." Fay has alleged that whilst Maxim admits that the general context of the times and what it would have been to live as a composer under Soviet rule are generally correct, that Shostakovich's individual portrait was "grossly miscontrued", and hence, whilst praising the book for highlighting the potential hardships of living under totalitarianism, nevertheless has repeatedly maintained his claim that "it [Testimony] was a book about my father, not by him" — in short, that in his opinion the book cannot be treated as Shostakovich's memoirs, so much as a book about what Shostakovich may have been like.
Contrary to Fay, Maxim's statements and actions after the fall of the Soviet regime in 1991 reflect his personal endorsement of Testimony and Volkov. To Dmitry Feofanov, Maxim emphasized repeatedly in 1997: "I am a supporter both of Testimony and of Volkov." Maxim also was the guest of honor at the launching of the Czech edition of the memoirs in 2005 and, with his sister Galina, contributed an introduction to the second Russian edition of Volkov's Shostakovich and Stalin in 2006, which includes the following: "We, Shostakovich’s children, who watched his life pass before our eyes, express our profound gratitude to Solomon Volkov for his marvelous work, the naked truth of which will undoubtedly help our contemporaries and future generations better to see the difficult fate of our unforgettable father, and through it, better to understand his music."
Shostakovich's widow's later reaction to the book was one of skepticism: "Volkov saw Dmitrich three or maybe four times. . . . He was never an intimate friend of the family—he never had dinner with us here, for instance . . . . I don't see how he could have gathered enough material from Dmitrich for such a thick book." The critics of Testimony claim that this further calls into question the book's authenticity. However, it should be noted that Volkov had a 15-year professional relationship with Dmitri Shostakovich. It started in 1960 when Volkov reviewed Shostakovich's 8th String Quartet
String Quartet No. 8 (Shostakovich)
Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8 in C minor was written in three days . It was premiered that year in Leningrad by the Beethoven Quartet....
, and Shostakovich wrote a preface for Volkov's book Molodyye Kompozitory Leningrada ("Young Composers of Leningrad") in 1971. In addition, Irina Shostakovich is now the only member of the Shostakovich family who denounces Testimony. Son Maxim and daughter Galina (who lived longer with the composer than did his third wife) endorse it.
Although Volkov remains reluctant to respond to criticisms of himself and of Testimony, on February 15, 1999 he appeared with Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
, Allan B. Ho, and Dmitry Feofanov at an open forum at the Mannes College of Music to answer questions about the memoirs. Unfortunately, none of his principal critics attended this session. Volkov also has provided input into the books by Ho and Feofanov.
Despite translation into 30 different languages, the Russian original has never been published, prompting speculation from the critics that Volkov is afraid to publish it in Russian because "Anybody who has beard Dmitri Dmitrievich's living voice even once would realize right away that it is a forgery." The copyrights of Testimony, however, belong to Volkov's American publisher, and it is not up to Volkov to allow or to deny a Russian-language publication of Testimony. Moreover, Maxim and Galina Shostakovich and many others have read copies the original Russian typescript and believe the book to be genuine. In an interview with Feofanov in 1995, Galina stated:
"I am an admirer of Volkov. There is nothing false there [in Testimony]. Definitely the style of speech is Shostakovich’s — not only the choice of words, but also the way they are put together."
Volkov continues to affirm that everything in Testimony came from Shostakovich's mouth, but some believe that it is a pastiche from other sources as well, which has caused them to take the book with a grain of salt. Significantly, recent Shostakovich research (such as the discovery of a fragment of the original version of the Ninth Symphony) has tended to corroborate what is stated in Testimony rather than the other way around.
Other works
His other books include St. Petersburg: A Cultural History (1995), Shostakovich and Stalin: The Extraordinary Relationship Between the Great Composer and the Brutal Dictator (2004), The Magical Chorus: A History of Russian Culture from Tolstoy to Solzhenitsyn (2008), and Romanov Riches: Russian Writers and Artists Under the Tsars (2011). In Russia Solomon Volkov is also well known due to his dialogues with Joseph BrodskyJoseph Brodsky
Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky , was a Russian poet and essayist.In 1964, 23-year-old Brodsky was arrested and charged with the crime of "social parasitism" He was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1972 and settled in America with the help of W. H. Auden and other supporters...
, collected and published in 1998. He has also published volumes of memoirs with other major figures, including Balanchine's Tchaikovsky: Conversations with Balanchine on his Life, Ballet and Music (1985) and From Russia to the West: the Musical Memoirs and Reminiscences of Nathan Milstein
Nathan Milstein
Nathan Mironovich Milstein was a Russian-born American virtuoso violinist.Widely considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach's solo violin works and for works from the Romantic period...
(1990).