Investigating the place of music in Soviet society during the eras of Lenin and Stalin, this book examines the different strategies adopted by composers and musicians in their attempts to carve out careers in a rapidly evolving society, and discusses the role of music in Soviet society and people's lives, and shows how political ideology proved an inspiration as well as an inhibition. 'Any book that contains such a wealth of fresh research makes itself instantly indispensable to scholars working in its field, and Edmund's unprecendented drawing together of scholars from a wide range of diciplines has produced an extremely stimulating study.' - SEER 'The unique strength of this anthology is its attention to musical life beyond the Russian heartland ... Rouland moves beyond facile stereotypes.' - Slavic Review