"Skinner's survey of Beethoven reception in Russia from the 1790s through 2010 is constructed from an astonishing compendium of details compiled over decades of research and reflection. The adoption of the heroic Beethoven for revolutionary and communist purposes—an adoption the West believes to be a perversion—makes sense not as abuse but as a logical outgrowth of the Romantic idealization of the composer. Ultimately, Skinner provokes us into re-examining our own 'Beethovens.'"—William Meredith, emeritus director of the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, San José State University
"Merging Beethoven with Russian history and politics, Skinner takes a thought-provoking, interdisciplinary approach to Beethoven reception studies. . . . Russia has not been well represented in Beethoven reception studies, so this book, with its excellent bibliography, is a valuable resource."—M. N. H. Cheng, Colgate University