Sound of Utopia : Musicians in the Time of Stalin

“Revelatory and poignant” stories of suppression and freedom, told through the artists trying to make music in the dangerous time of Stalin's purges (The Guardian).

“Krielaars testifies to a deep knowledge of Russia. Told with the voice of a great master”  —  Pieter Waterdrinker, author of The Long Song of Tchaikovsky Street

“Highly readable. . . Transport[s] us through a rich mix of anecdotal and historical material”  — Financial Times

When Stalin came to power, making music became a dangerous endeavour. Russian composers now had to create work that served the socialist state, and all artistic production was scrutinized for potential subversion and traces of the now-maligned "formalism."

The Sound of Utopia offers a vivid portrait of Soviet musicians and composers struggling to create art in this climate of terror. Some successfully toed the ideological line, following the whims of the powerful and diluting their work in the process; others ended up facing the Gulag or even death. With pace and verve, Michel Krielaars tells stories of intrigue, betrayal and stunning reversals of fortune, from the gay popular singer arrested at the height of his popularity to the blacklisted composer who wrote his greatest music on scrap paper in a forced labour camp.

Featuring fresh perspectives on famous figures such as Sviatoslav Richter and Sergei Prokofiev alongside suppressed and forgotten artists such as Vsevolod Zaderatsy, The Sound of Utopia offers a portrait of the full range of Soviet musical life. Dramatic and immersive, this is a rich exploration of the absurdity and the richness of Soviet musical life—and a tribute to those who crafted sublime melodies under the darkest circumstances.

Michel Krielaars is a writer and a journalist specialising in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, who currently writes for the Dutch daily newspaper NRC. He studied history and Russian at the University of Amsterdam and was a correspondent in Russia between 2007 and 2012. Krielaars has written novels, short-story collections and several books about Russia, including Through Chekov's Glasses and Travels through Russia, which won the Bob den Uyl Prize. He lives in Amsterdam.

Jonathan Reeder, a native of New York and longtime resident of Amsterdam, enjoys a dual career as a literary translator and performing musician. Alongside his work as a professional bassoonist, he translates opera libretti and essays on classical music, as well as contemporary Dutch fiction by authors including Bram Dehouck, Christine Otten and Rodaan Al Galidi.