Western Cold War propaganda holds that music in Russia during the decade, like everything else, was nothing but a tool of totalitarian rule, but Mikkonen (history and ethnology, U. of Jyväskylä, Finland) points out that the number of composers, performers, and listeners were unprecedented, and that Soviet music was consistently ranked far above that from other countries in international competitions. He explores the complexity as one of many controversies both during the period itself and in the representation of it since. Among his topics are between art, ideology, and politics; evaluating the past and planning the future; reshaping the Soviet musical stage; ideology meets music; and the political turmoil beyond 1936. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)