Based on extensive archival research, this study explores the cultural background, lives, and careers of Soviet composers Nikolay Roslavets (1880–1944), Gavriil Popov (1904–72), and Alexander Mosolov (1900–73), all of whom are virtually unknown outside Russia…. Tassie describes the thought processes and accomplishments of these gifted composers in meticulous detail…. [W]ith this volume they are finally getting well-deserved attention beyond their country. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.

Choice Reviews

Gregor Tassie is inseparably connected with cultural figures of the Soviet Union and Russia. His biographies about such outstanding figures as Nikolay Myaskovsky, Kirill Kondrashin, and Yevgeny Mravinsky leave a huge impression, not only through the brightness of his language as a writer but also as a real expert whose works are interesting and informative to read. I am sure that his The Three Apostles of Russian Music: The Soviet Avant-Garde will be a huge success among connoisseurs, music lovers, and critics.

Alexander Sladkovsky, Director and Conductor, Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra

Gregor Tassie' s The Three Apostles of Russian Music: The Soviet Avant-Garde is a welcome and insightful contribution to a vital but inadequately understood subject---the musical innovations and creativity in the decades immediately following the Russian Revolution and the careers of its major protagonists. Tassie integrates a vast knowledge of Russian history, politics, literature and art into his provocative, wide ranging and insightful account, built around the work and careers of Roslavets, Popov, and Mosolov, all composers who have too long been in the shadows. It is elegant, lucid and original, and will be of tremendous value to performers, scholars, and students.

Leon Botstein, President and Leon Levy Professor in the Arts and Humanities, Bard College

The Russian Avant-Garde was a brilliant phenomenon in 20th-century art that unified the greatest artists, poets, actors, and musicians and offered new hope in a changing world. After many years of neglect, for the first time Gregor Tassie presents this little-known group of composers who contributed hugely to world art. I hope this book will receive the widest possible acclaim and support.

Andrey Zolotov, Russian Academy of Art

The three apostles of Russian music that Grego Tassie identifies in this impressive ground-breaking study are Mosolov, Popov and Roslavets- leaders, if by no means the only ones, of the 20th-century Soviet avant-garde- an era long- since thought to have disappeared along with the bodies of millions of human beings who, either momentarily or consistently, fell foul of those in positions of power... The intelligent musician and music-lover, as well as publishers and recording companies, would be well advised to investigate these legacies. As Gregor Tassie eloquently and convincingly demonstrates, here is music that deserves to be heard, not at the expense of the work of others, but because it is worthwhile and, in each composer's case, contains elements of civilized insight that would surely enhance the experience of any musician or music-lover. Mr. Tassie's Scholarly and enthusiastic endorsement of the music of these three masters is strongly recommended.

Musical Opinion Quarterly