“A great attraction of the book is the wit and enthusiasm that suffuse its tone. . . A thoroughly engaging style as well as a consummate mastery in handling archival materials makes this book as enjoyable a read for a wide audience as it is indispensable for specialists.”—Michelle Assay, SEER
'Frolova-Walker’s study of the Stalin Prize is permeated with the joy of discovery. Although the subject is tremendous, since it deals with the machinations of power under a dictatorial regime, the author delights in what she calls time travelling and eavesdropping. The amount of sources in which actual conversation had been preserved verbatim enables the historian a fly-on-the-wall perspective that leads her up to Stalin's writing desk.' -
Francis Maes, European History Quarterly
'Stalin’s Music Prize represents a milestone in the literature on Soviet music and cultural politics.' - Leah Godman, Journal of the American Musicological Society
“These books give fuller, finer-grained and better-shaded accounts of Soviet policy ups and downs and their impact on musicians than any previous study.”—Richard Taruskin, TLS
“Thanks to Frolova-Walker’s engaging and readable written style, such material is brought to life, providing a rich and engrossing narrative of Soviet cultural history during this turbulent period.”—Erik Levi, BBC Music
~Erik Levi, BBC Music Magazine
'Frolova-Walker’s study of the Stalin Prize is permeated with the joy of discovery. Although the subject is tremendous, since it deals with the machinations of power under a dictatorial regime, the author delights in what she calls time travelling and eavesdropping. The amount of sources in which actual conversation had been preserved verbatim enables the historian a fly-on-the-wall perspective that leads her up to Stalin's writing desk.' -
Francis Maes, European History Quarterly
~Francis Maes, European History Quarterly
'Stalin’s Music Prize represents a milestone in the literature on Soviet music and cultural politics.' - Leah Godman, Journal of the American Musicological Society
~Leah Godman, Journal of the American Musicological Society
“These books give fuller, finer-grained and better-shaded accounts of Soviet policy ups and downs and their impact on musicians than any previous study.”—Richard Taruskin, TLS
~Richard Taruskin, TLS