...This book examines musical life in the Soviet Union under Iosif Stalin by focusing on musicians and composers who were recipients of the Stalin Prize. It discusses various aspects of Soviet music during the period 1940–1954, including popular song composers, the Red Army choir, balalaika ensembles...

...This chapter explains how the awarding system for the Stalin Prize worked. It first provides a background on how the Stalin Prize was born, comparing it to the defunct Lenin Prize. It then discusses the amount of the prize, along with collateral benefits such as huge print runs, productions...

...This chapter focuses on the first year of the Stalin Prize, using Dmitry Shostakovich's Piano Quintet to acquaint readers with some of the twists and turns of the process. One of the first to take an interest in the vagaries of the Stalin Prize for music was Solomon Volkov, who was particularly...

...This chapter discusses the Stalin Prize history of Dmitry Shostakovich, who won in 1950 and 1952. It begins with an analysis of the debate in the Stalin Prize Committee over Shostakovich's Eighth Symphony, first in 1944 and again in 1945, and how the work tested the boundaries of musical Socialist...

...This chapter focuses on the Stalin Prizes awarded to the non-Russian ‘national’ republics that comprised the Soviet Union. It begins with an overview of the Soviet Union's national policy that organized various ethnicities into ethno-territorial units, along with its impact on national music under...

...This chapter examines various musical genres that lie outside highbrow art music within the context of the Stalin Prize. Socialist Realism was often envisioned as a way for higher and lower varieties of art to meet on an equal footing. High art would descend from its ivory tower, while the folk...

...This book takes a new look at musical life in Iosif Stalin's Soviet Union. It focuses on the musicians and composers who received Stalin Prizes, awarded annually to artists whose work was thought to represent the best in Soviet culture. The book sheds new light on the Communist leader's personal...

...This chapter discusses the Stalin Prize history of Nikolai Myaskovsky, who won five times between 1941 and 1951. Compared to Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitry Shostakovich, Myaskovsky remains an enigmatic—albeit powerful—presence in Soviet music. His importance is borne out by his five Stalin Prizes...

...This chapter describes the new environment in which the Stalin Prize Committee (KSP) worked from the beginning of 1948 onwards, with particular emphasis on Tikhon Khrennikov's influence as head of the Union of Composers and chairman of the KSP Music Section. At the KSP's plenary session held...

...This chapter focuses on the Stalin Prize history of Sergei Prokofiev, who won six times between 1943 and 1951. More specifically, it examines the convoluted and even paradoxical nature of Prokofiev's Stalin Prize trajectory, suggesting that his wins and misses are caught in an intricate web...

...This chapter focuses on Dmitry Shostakovich's behaviour as a member of the Stalin Prize Committee (KSP). Shostakovich started attending meetings of the Music Section in March 1947. When the plenary sessions of the KSP began in April, Shostakovich and Nikolai Myaskovsky clashed over the latter's...

...This chapter focuses on Stalin Prizes awarded to performers, both for individuals and for production teams in opera. It begins with an overview of the politics involved in opera and dramatic theatre awards and goes on to discuss what was perceived as Iosif Stalin's preferential treatment...

...This chapter examines how the Stalin Prize Committee (KSP) fared after the death of Iosif Stalin in 1953. With the passing of Stalin, the government gave no clear instructions on how the KSP should proceed, not even stipulating whether the 1952 and 1953 nominations should be treated separately...

...This book concludes with a discussion of issues of listening in the Stalin Prize Committee (KSP) and how the Stalin Prize can illuminate the concept or practice of Socialist Realism in music. Instead of looking at the small-scale details of the KSP's decision-making process, it considers...