Music Under the Soviets: The Agony of an Art

Music Under the Soviets (1955) examines the concept of Soviet music, its special characteristics and its differences from the musical tradition of the West. As the musical practice under the Soviet totalitarian dictatorship, it should be viewed as the musical policy of that regime.

Andrey Olkhovsky, born in 1900, was a musicologist, composer and educator. He taught history and theory of music in the Soviet Union, as well as composing various musical works and writing a number of books and articles on musical subjects, before leaving for the USA where he continued studying and teaching.