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Playing with Fire: The Story of Maria Yudina, Pianist in Stalin's Russia de Elizabeth Wilson

Playing with Fire: The Story of Maria Yudina, Pianist in Stalin's Russia

Autor Elizabeth Wilson
en Limba Engleză Hardback – 22 mar 2022

Sunetul sacadat al unui pian se aude prin paraziții stațiilor radio din Leningradul asediat, în timp ce, în adâncurile înghețate, echipajele de pe submarine ascultă aceeași muzică hipnotică. La claviatură se află Maria Yudina, o femeie a cărei viață pare extrasă dintr-un scenariu de film despre rezistența prin artă. În Playing with Fire, Elizabeth Wilson reconstituie destinul uneia dintre cele mai enigmatice figuri ale culturii ruse, o pianistă care a sfidat convențiile ideologice ale regimului stalinist fără a-și pierde integritatea morală. Observăm cum narațiunea pendulează între legenda conform căreia Yudina ar fi fost interpreta preferată a lui Stalin și realitatea brutală a persecuției: spre finalul vieții, a fost înlăturată din trei instituții de învățământ pentru refuzul de a se alinia dogmelor. Subliniem faptul că autoarea, ea însăși violoncelistă formată în mediul academic moscovit, nu se limitează la o analiză tehnică a interpretărilor. Ea plasează cariera Yudinei în centrul unui efervescent cerc intelectual, alături de figuri precum Boris Pasternak sau Mikhail Bakhtin. Această biografie se află pe același raft cu Shostakovich de Laurel Fay, dar cu un accent pe forța brută a interpretului care refuză să tacă, spre deosebire de compromisurile dureroase ale compozitorului. Dacă în Yevgeny Mravinsky, Gregor Tassie explorează figura dirijorului aristocrat integrat în sistem, Wilson ne prezintă aici un spirit liber despre care Șostakovici spunea că vedea „oceanul doar până la genunchi”. Merită menționat că lucrarea continuă preocuparea autoarei pentru marile destine muzicale, începută cu Mstislav Rostropovich: Cellist, Teacher, Legend, păstrând aceeași rigoare documentară și empatie față de artistul aflat sub presiune politică.

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Specificații

ISBN-13: 9780300253931
ISBN-10: 0300253931
Pagini: 352
Ilustrații: 16 color illus.
Dimensiuni: 156 x 235 x 35 mm
Greutate: 0.72 kg
Editura: Yale University Press
Colecția Yale University Press

De ce să citești această carte

Recomandăm această carte pasionaților de istorie culturală și celor care vor să înțeleagă cum poate arta să supraviețuiască în condiții de teroare. Cititorul câștigă acces la o biografie documentată riguros, care transformă datele istorice într-o poveste vibrantă despre curaj. Este un portret esențial al unei femei care a ales să cânte pentru răniți și asediați, sfidând cenzura prin simpla sa prezență pe scenă.

Despre autor

Elizabeth Wilson este o reputată cercetătoare a culturii, deținând titlul de profesor de științe sociale la University of North London. Formarea sa ca violoncelistă în mediul academic moscovit îi oferă o perspectivă unică asupra peisajului muzical rus, fiind autoarea unor biografii de referință despre Șostakovici și Mstislav Rostropovich. În scrierile sale, precum Unfolding the Past sau War Damage, Wilson îmbină rigoarea academică cu o sensibilitate narativă aparte, reușind să umanizeze figurile legendare ale secolului XX prin accesul la documente de arhivă și mărturii inedite.

Descriere scurtă

The first full biography of the fearless and brilliant Maria Yudina, a legendary pianist who was central to Russian intellectual life
 
“Playing with Fire is a ground-breaking work—a phenomenal biography of a towering human spirit of everlasting relevance.”—Norman Lebrecht, Wall Street Journal
 
Maria Yudina was no ordinary musician. An incredibly popular pianist, she lived on the fringes of Soviet society and had close friendships with such towering figures as Boris Pasternak, Pavel Florensky, and Mikhail Bakhtin. Legend has it that she was Stalin’s favorite pianist.
 
Yudina was at the height of her fame during WWII, broadcasting almost daily on the radio, playing concerts for the wounded and troops in hospitals and on submarines, and performing for the inhabitants of besieged Leningrad. By the last years of her life, she had been dismissed for ideological reasons from the three institutions where she taught. And yet, according to Shostakovich, Yudina remained “a special case. . . . The ocean was only knee-deep for her.”
 
In this engaging biography, Elizabeth Wilson sets Yudina’s extraordinary life within the context of her times, where her musical career is measured against the intense intellectual and religious ferment of the postrevolutionary period and the ensuing years of Soviet repression.

Recenzii

“Playing with Fire is a ground-breaking work—a phenomenal biography of a towering human spirit of everlasting relevance.”—Norman Lebrecht, Wall Street Journal

“Wilson, a Moscow-trained cellist and biographer of Shostakovich, has found details of, it seems, every concerto, every appearance, every job Yudina did.”—John Lloyd, Financial Times

“As this fascinating book shows, the real story of Yudina is more moving and extraordinary than any of the myths.”—Ivan Hewett, Daily Telegraph

“The author of biographies of Shostakovich and Rostropovich turns her attention to the great Soviet pianist Maria Yudina (1899–1970), famous for eccentricity and moral courage. Wilson emphasizes Yudina’s passionate intellectual life; a disciple of Bakhtin, . . . she was as interested in philosophy as she was in music.”—New Yorker

“Wilson illuminates the life of one of twentieth-century Russia’s most brilliant pianists and uncompromising individuals. . . . Through her meticulous research, Wilson disabuses us of the many legends that surround Yudina’s peculiar character.”—Nadia Beard, Times Literary Supplement

“Wilson, a musician and writer who authored a fine book on Dmitri Shostakovich, has now produced the first English-language biography of Maria Yudina, one of Russia’s greatest twentieth-century pianists. Her study gains strength from its vivid reconstruction of the classical music scene under Soviet rule.”—Tony Barber, Financial Times, “Best Summer Books of 2022: History”

“Based on decades of research, Wilson’s book is a testament to the life of an indefatigable survivor and uncompromising pianistic talent.”—Isaac Sligh, New Criterion

“Chronicling an epic life, . . . Wilson draws a portrait of creativity in conflict amid desperate circumstances.”—Tim Riley, Los Angeles Review of Books

“A brilliant pianist closely connected with the leading lights of 20th-century Russian music, literature and philosophy, Maria Yudina was a seminal figure whose devout religious beliefs brought her into direct collision with the Soviet state. Elizabeth Wilson's great achievement is to have brought Yudina's extraordinary life out of the shadows. With this revelatory biography she takes us deep into the heart of Russian artistic genius at its most passionate and uncompromising.”—Rosamund Bartlett, author of Chekhov Scenes from a Life and Tolstoy: A Russian Life
 

“Maria Yudina, one of the great pianists of the 20th century, reached cult status in the USSR, but is still little known abroad. This fascinating biography by Elizabeth Wilson, combining scholarly erudition and captivating storytelling, not only fills this gap but reads like a powerful Russian novel!”—Mikhail Rudy, award-winning concert pianist
 

“So much more than a great and deeply unusual pianist, Maria Yudina was at once mystic and visionary, a pioneer of modernism and a tremendous friend to those who loved her. Few writers and musicians in the English-speaking world are better placed than Elizabeth Wilson to tell the story of this mysterious and far too little-known 20th century musician. And the story is a revelation.”—Gerard McBurney, composer and writer
 

“An engaging read that tells the story of Russia’s preeminent pianist of the 20th century in lucid and approachable language, this long-needed book illuminates Maria Yudina’s work and life through recollections of her contemporaries and considerable archival research.”—Elena Dubinets, Artistic Director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra
 

“Presents an absorbing picture of a tragic period of Russian history. At its center is the towering figure of Maria Yudina, a remarkable pianist and one of the most influential personalities of Soviet cultural life. A riveting read.”—Boris Berman, Head of Piano, Yale University School of Music
 

Notă biografică

Elizabeth Wilson is a performer, teacher, and writer. She studied cello at the Moscow Conservatoire with Mstislav Rostropovich and is the author of biographies of Dmitri Shostakovich, Jacqueline du Pre, and Mstislav Rostropovich.