Realist music : 25 Soviet composers / Rena Moisenko.

This text includes black and white photographs depicting several of the Soviet composers profiled in the work. The text also contains several black and white illustrations of musical instruments, as well as examples of sheet music corresponding to the composers' work.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-256) and index.

Part One - theory of Socialist music: 1. Socialist philosophy as influencing music -- 2. Policy of nationalities as applied to music -- 3. How Soviet composers work --

Part Two - Application of the theory in Socialist environment. Biographies, social activities and scientific discoveries in national republics of the U.S.S.R. of 25 Soviet composers: Alexandrov, Alexander - Soviet army choir -- Asafiev, Boris - musicologist -- Chishko, Oles - Russian Soviet opera -- Dunayevsky, Isaak - popular music -- Dzerzhinski, Ivan - Soviet opera -- Gadzhibekov, Useir - Azerbaijan research -- Glier, Reinhold - Azerbaijan S.S.R. composer -- Gnessin, Mikhail - teacher: Hebrew music -- Khrennikov, Tikhon - Russian Soviet opera -- Kiladze, Grigori -- Georgian S.S.R. composer -- Kornilov, Feodor - Yakut research -- Moldybaev, Abdylas - Kirghiz research -- Myaskovsky, Nikolai - symphonist and teacher -- Paliashvili, Zakhary - Georgian research -- Prokofiev, Sergei -- Shaporin, Yuri - Soviet oratorio -- Shostakovich, Dmitri - naturalism in music -- Spendiarov, A. - Armenian research -- Steinberg, Maximilian - teacher : the R.A.P.M. -- Streikher, Lyubov - Jewish music -- Vaseilenko, Sergei - Uzbek national music -- Weissberg, Julia - children's opera -- Zhelobinsky, Valeri - composers on modern themes.

"Madame Moisenko, who is herself a musician of note, is well equipped to provide us with this fascinating and informative account of the lives and work of 25 of the leading composers of the Soviet Union..."Realist Music" follows her booklet entitled "20 Soviet composers," published in 1942, which was the first source of information on the subject available to the English public. Sir Adrian Boult, in his foreword to this larger and more comprehensive work, says: "We welcome very heartily this new information about our Soviet colleges...Madame Moisenko's book is a very timely attempt to bridge the gap and make us aware of Russian progress during and since the war. She approaches her subject on a wide scale and reader will enjoy for their own sake, for instance, her fascinating descriptions of local music-making as introductions to the music of Azerbaijan and Kirghizia." Madame Moisenko also deals with the topical and controversal problem of the relations between the composers and the governments of the U.S.S.R., and her comments throw light on a relationship which is sometimes misinterpreted by those outside the Soviet Union." -- From the book jacket.