I read this for the Barnes since I read "The Sense of an Ending" earlier, and what a marvellous book it is.
It talks about the life of Dmitri Shostakovich a Russian composer who was put out in front of the world as a representative of art and culture on behalf of Stalin's Russia. It goes deep in the thoughts of the artist and how it shifts from being artistic to survivalistic.
There are different ways to look at it and the easiest is to call the people opportunistic. They can be criticised for getting moulded to the external factors and not being true to their art. This sounds moralistic but until you get down to the basic idea of staying alive. Dying for the ideas or not abandoning your ideas sound heroic but is it possible for everyone to do that?
I'm not a connoisseur of music but after reading this book I actually listened to some pieces from Shostakovich, and I couldn't find them to be following any pattern that it might have been pushed into. Maybe I need more ear training and exposure to a much larger repertoire.
Read this one. It is small but gives you some big idea on how not to judge people on their life choices. You are not in those shoes and never going to be because we come with our own shoes.
Peace!
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