Testimony (Masterplots II: Nonfiction Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Dmitri Shostakovich
- First Published: 1979
- Type of Work: Memoir
- Time of Work: 1906-1975
- Setting: The Soviet Union
- Principal Characters: Shostakovich| Dmitri, Stalin| Joseph, Glazunov| Aleksandr
- Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, Politics, Twentieth century, Work or workers, Composers, Biography, Soviet Union or Soviets
Form and Content
Testimony is the story of Dmitri Shostakovich’s life from his childhood to just before his death in 1975. The autobiography was written in 1974 and 1975, with the assistance of the music critic Solomon Volkov, Shostakovich’s friend, who transcribed his conversations with the composer, edited them, and wrote the introduction. Shostakovich undertook the project on the condition that Volkov would not publish the book until after his death.
Shostakovich asserts (not entirely convincingly) that his own life is not interesting, but he...
[The entire page is 2078 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
See Also
