This gave rise to… conflict. You would, among the Soviet composers, find the conformists who accommodated the regime’s wishes, and the formalists who were inspired by the 20th century decadent West, creating intellectual music difficult to understand for the working class.
In tonight’s programme we will meet both:
Firstly, the conformist Tikhon Khrennikov, who was an excellent teacher as well as a brilliant composer: the leader of the Soviet Composers´ Union for decades. The members, however, disliked him enormously, as they had to suffer many a humiliation from him at public meetings and in Pravda and other newspaper articles.
On the other hand, few Russian composers suffered – too much – distress, even during Stalin, so perhaps, behind the scenes, Khrennikov, being a savvy politician, might have ensured the survival of his union members. Crook or hero? We may never find out.