Gary Menchen <[log in to unmask]> asked:

>Can any readers of this list suggest good alternate sources for out of
>print books on music? Or even better, suggest a more up to date book on
>music in Soviet Russia?

If, by chance, you can read French, I can suggest a book by Frans C.
Lemaire, "La Musique du XXeme siecle en Russie et dans les anciennes
Republiques sovietiques", "Les chemins de la musique" series, Editions
Fayard, 1994.  I may sometimes disagree with his opinions and some of his
musical statements, but it is a very interesting book, very nicely written,
which gives not only valuable data (including several dozen biographies)
but also much insight into the overall context.  It is deeply committed,
one can feel that the author has gained geunine familiarity with the people
involved in this saga over the years, but it is not hagiographic.  I
somewhat regret that little is said about composers in exile, although this
is understandable.  Some are studied at some length, though, e.g.  Arthur
Lourie whose symphonies cry out for a modern recording (No. 1 "Dialectica"
is superb and astonishing, somewhere between imaginary Russian court music
and almost Petterssonian tension-filled gestures).

If the book is not out-of-print, it can probably be ordered from the
publisher:

Editions Fayard
75 rue des Saints Peres
F-75006 Paris
France
Phone: +33 1 45 49 82 00
Fax: +33 1 42 22 40 17

I hope this helps a little,

Best wishes,

Thanh-Tam Le
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