Playing with Fire - The Story of Maria Yudina, Pianist in Stalin's Russia (Hardcover)

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.

General

Imprint:	Yale University Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	February 2022
Authors:	Elizabeth Wilson
Dimensions:	241 x 163 x 35mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover - Cloth over boards
Pages:	352
ISBN-13:	978-0-300-25393-1
Categories:	Books > Arts & Architecture > Music > Composers & musicians Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Film, television, music, theatre Books > Humanities > History > European history > General Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900 > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Gender studies > Women's studies > General Books > History > European history > General Books > History > World history > From 1900 > General Books > Biography > Film, television, music, theatre Books > Music > Composers & musicians
LSN:	0-300-25393-1
Barcode:	9780300253931

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