| Review |
"Kirill Kondrashin (1914-1981) is regarded as one of the most brilliant Russian conductors of the 20th century and a great interpreter of Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, and Mahler. In Kirill Kondrashin: His Life in Music, Gregor Tassie presents a biography of the artist - from his humble background and early conducting experience at age 17, through his 20 years in Leningrad and at the Bolshoi Theatre, to his break with the Bolshoi and the expanded symphonic career that followed, through his defection in 1978, and finally his unexpected death from a heart attack." "Using firsthand accounts and previously unavailable archive materials from the Soviet Party and KGB sources, Tassie provides a detailed overview of Kondrashin's life and work, including his appointment as the first Russian conductor to visit America and meet President Eisenhower, and his associations with such artists as Emil Gilels, David Oistrakh, Mstislav Rostropovich, Van Cliburn, and Dmitry Shostakovich. Kirill Kondrashin: His Life in Music also supplies insight and information on the nature of the society in which Kondrashin lived, including political life in the Soviet Union from the 1920s until the 1970s and relations between East and West. Photos are included, as well as a full discography, bibliography, and index, making this a fascinating resource for anyone interested in 20th-century music as well as life in the former Soviet Union."--Jacket. |
