Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: The Shostakovich–Bogdanov-Berezovsky Correspondence
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: The Shostakovich–Bogdanov-Berezovsky Correspondence
This chapter offers an account of a recently discovered exchange of letters dating from the 1920s between the young Shostakovich and his close friend Valeryan Bogdanov-Berezovsky (1903–1971), who subsequently emerged as one of the leading Soviet musicologists and critics of his generation. The correspondence between the two men is of exceptional interest, as it offers a unique insight into Shostakovich’s character and artistic outlook at a crucial formative period. Unlike the composer’s later correspondence, in which he expressed himself with far greater circumspection, these letters are wholly free from self-censorship and reveal his innermost thoughts about life, love, and art with unusual frankness. The exuberant personality that they reveal stands in marked contrast to the ‘official’ public persona that Shostakovich adopted subsequently in his dealings with the outside world.
Keywords: Dmitri Shostakovich, Valeryan Bogdanov-Berezovsky, Shostakovich correspondence
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