Testimony- The memoirs of Shostakovich, as related to & edited by Solomon Volkov

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It seemed that every performance of my works brought nothing but trouble. The Maly Opera Theatre brought Lady Macbeth to Moscow–and there was ‘Muddle Instead of Music’. The Bolshoi Theatre staged my ballet – and there was another Pravda editorial, ‘Balletic Falsity’. And what would have happened if the Fourth had been performed then, too? Who knows, perhaps no one would have said a word, and my song would have been sung for good. / The conditions were grave, fatal. There’s no point in thinking about it. Besides, Stidri’s rehearsals weren’t merely bad – they were outrageous. First of all, he was scared to death, because no one would have spared him, either. In general, conductors aren’t the bravest men on earth. I’ve had many opportunities to confirm this opinion. They’re brave when it comes to yelling at an orchestra, but when someone yells at them, their knees shake. / Secondly, Stidri didn’t know or understand the score, and he expressed no desire to grapple with it. He said so straight out. And why be shy? The composer was an exposed formalist, so why bother digging around in his score?

excerpt from 'Testimony- The memoirs of Shostakovich, as related to & edited by Solomon Volkov' pp. 90 (208 words)

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