Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Joan Titus Publishes Dmitry Shostakovich and Music for Stalinist Cinema (1936-1953)

Joan Titus published Dmitry Shostakovich and Music for Stalinist Cinema (1936-1953) with Oxford University Press.

In this second volume of a trilogy on his music for Soviet soundtracks, Dmitry Shostakovich and Music for Stalinist Cinema (1936-1953), Titus explores Shostakovich’s continued development as a preeminent Soviet film composer and his navigation of the Soviet film industry amidst the cultural politics of late Stalinism.

Based on archival materials and contemporaneous press, Titus combines musical analysis of eighteen scores with discussion of socio-cultural context and reception of his work. She frames the discussion using the concepts of the mainstream and middlebrow to highlight the complex role of Shostakovich’s film music within Soviet arts culture. The composer’s experience with diverse filmmakers, genres, and styles allowed him the opportunity to experiment with film scoring and musical meaning, which revealed his heterogenous and thorough knowledge of musical styles and his integration of classical and popular musical trends.

This book was published by Oxford University Press, and can be found on its website along with a Companion Site complete with film clips: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/dmitry-shostakovich-and-music-for-stalinist-cinema-1936-1953-9780197611326?cc=us&lang=en&#