The fact that Volkov never answered to Laurel Fay, who suggested (in "Shostakovich vs. Volkov: whose Testimony", "The Russian Review", October 1980:484-493) that Volkov had "invented" this book seems to prove "Testimony" is not really the memories of Shostakovich, but something else. May be Shostakovich thought this way, but there is no evidence proving these are actually his thoughts. For the interested person "Shostakovich Studies," ed. by David Fanning (1995), and "Shostakovich: A life remembered" by E. Wilson (1994) are very good readings. "The New Shostakovich," by Ian MacDonald (1990), is largely speculative. "Shostakovich, the man and his music," ed. by C. Norris, though is already outdated (1982) includes very interesting contributions, some of them very biased. The biography of Shostakovich written by the Polish composser K. Meyer probably is vey interesting, but I did not heard it is available in English (it was published in German and perhaps French originally, I think). José A. Tapia

Testimony is 276 pages of a "shackled genius" (as Solzhenitsyn described him) being truly and 100% candid for the first time in his adult life. Compiled through interviews with the much-maligned Solomon Volkov, Shostakovich requested that they be published "after my death, after my death" for good reason.
For the more casual reader, a fabulous read; gripping, powerful, shattering. And educational, too.
For the historian or musicologist, one sees through "Testimony" the society Shostakovich and his colleagues lived in, and composed in.
For the musician, the groundwork is laid for gaining insight to Shostakovich the person, and thus the basic aspects of the composer's music: bitterness, sarcasm, satire, quotation, and a very direct, pointed language.
To consider the controversy regarding this book's "authenticity," I direct your attention to Ho & Feofanov's "Shostakovich Reconsidered," which is a truly enlightening work, both about "Testimony" and Shostakovich in general. Elizabeth Wilson's book is remarkable, too.

Although numerous assaults have taken place against testimony, as if Dmitri Shostakovich had offered his heart on a platter in his film scores but not in the 4th quartet, _Testimony_ has managed to come out the victor amidst the barrage. In addition to the fact that Shostakovich's (or "Shostakovich's", if you skeptics prefer) words coincide so well with the music, I have read various collections of evidence pro Testimony- I think that dozens and dozens of quotations from colleagues of Shostakovich (including his daughter and son) attesting to the truthfulness of Testimony are better evidence than the pedantic date-mincing of cynics who had never met the man.

With all of this further defense of the book aside, I must say that this is a fine book, and it is finer still if you will accept the words within as fact. Read all of the mud-slinging regarding Testimony first if you wish, but with all of it aside this book is a fine work of fact, and would even be a fine work of fiction.

Although pedants may be quite blind to the fact, this book is rather moving, at times humourous, at times starkly observant... One who does not adore Shostakovich's music would do well to read the book, for one gains a great psychological perspective into what are merely very good works when viewed as 'absolute music'.