Tikhon Khrennikov and Dimitri Shostakovich

A great piece in The Guardian about Soviet artists, and Shostakovich in particular, under Stalin's rule. Based on an interview with Tikhon Khrennikov, head of the union of soviet composers, it also includes a brief interview with Shostakovich's widow.

It includes this classic example of Shostakovich being "sorry".

"I thank you comrade chairman ... I thought I had succeeded in developing a personal idiom that adhered to the wise demands of the Soviet people ... I now see I was mistaken and have underestimated my need for artistic correction. I acknowledge the rightness of the party's judgment. I shall work on the musical depiction of the heroic Soviet peoples, from the correct ideological standpoint. Equipped with the guidance of the Central Committee, I shall renew my efforts to create really good songs for collective singing."

So, was Khrennikov an enemy or a friend? He says he helped the composers and implies that someone else in his position would have been much worse for them. Still, it's seems obvious that he enjoyed the power that came with his post. The world is a complicated place, I suppose.

Here's the link.
Guardian Unlimited Arts | Arts features | The secret rebel