''Testimony'' is a 1988 British independent

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

drama film directed by

Tony Palmer Tony Palmer (born 29 August 1941)IMDb: Tony Palmer
Retrieved 24 September 2011 is a British film direc ...

and starring Ben Kingsley, Sherry Baines and

Robert Stephens Sir Robert Graham Stephens (14 July 193112 November 1995) was a leading English actor in the early years of Britain's Royal National Theatre. He was one of the most respected actors of his generation and was at one time regarded as the natur ...

. The film is based on the memoirs of

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

(1906–1975) as dictated in the book '' Testimony'' (edited by Solomon Volkov, ) and filmed in Panavision.

Cast

* Ben Kingsley as

*Sherry Baines as Nina Shostakovich *Magdalen Asquith as Galya Shostakovich *Mark Asquith as

Maxim Shostakovich Maxim Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (russian: Макси́м Дми́триевич Шостако́вич; born 10 May 1938 in Leningrad) is a Soviet, Russian and American conductor and pianist. He is the second child of the composer Dmitri Shostako ...

Terence Rigby Terence Christopher Gerald Rigby (2 January 1937 – 10 August 2008) was an English actor with a number of film and television credits to his name. In the 1970s he was well known as police dog-handler PC Snow in the long-running series '' Soft ...

as Joseph Stalin * Ronald Pickup as Mikhail Tukhachevsky *

John Shrapnel John Morley Shrapnel (27 April 1942 – 14 February 2020) was an English actor. He is known mainly for his stage work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre in the United Kingdom and for his many television appearances. O ...

as Andrei Zhdanov *Robert Reynolds as Brutus * Vernon Dobtcheff as Gargolovsky *Colin Hurst as Stalin’s Secretary *Joyce Grundy as

Keke Geladze Keke may refer to: People Given name * Keke Coutee (born 1995), American football wide receiver * Keke Geladze (1858–1937), Georgian mother of Joseph Stalin * Barkevious "KeKe" Mingo (born 1990), American football player * Keke Mortson (193 ...

Mark Thrippleton Mark Thrippleton (born 13 July 1967) is an England, English actor from Leeds. Thrippleton worked as a roofer and tiler before taking up acting in the 1980s. In 1984 he appeared in ''How We Used to Live'' — a British educational drama tracing ...

as Young Joseph Stalin * Liza Goddard as The English Humanist * Peter Woodthorpe as

Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov; ger, Glasunow (, 10 August 1865 – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 ...

as Vsevolod Meyerhold * William Squire as Aram Khachaturian * Murray Melvin as The Film Editor * Robert Urquhart as The Journalist *

Christopher Bramwell Christopher Bramwell is a British actor who was active on television from 1977 until 1996. He appeared in several TV dramas including ''Grange Hill'', '' Enemy at the Door'', '' Tales of the Unexpected'', '' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' ...

as Vanya *

Brook Williams Brook Richard Williams (22 January 1938 – 29 April 2005) was a British stage actor who also made numerous film and television appearances in small roles. Biography His father was the Welsh playwright and actor Emlyn Williams. His older broth ...

as H. G. Wells *

Marita Phillips Marita Georgina Knight (''née'' Phillips; formerly Crawley; born 28 May 1954 in London, England) is a British songwriter and author. Her lyrics have been recorded by artists such as Peter Skellern, Demis Roussos, William Lovelady and Art Garfun ...

as Madam Lupinskaya

Music

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

**Leader: David Nolan **Conductor:

Rudolf Barshai Rudolf Borisovich Barshai (russian: Рудольф Борисович Баршай, link=no, September 28, 1924November 2, 2010) was a Soviet and Russian conductor and violist. Life Barshai was born on September 28, 1924, in Stanitsa Labinskay ...

*The Golden Age Singers **Chorus Master: Simon Preston *

Chilingirian Quartet The Chilingirian Quartet is a British string quartet. It gave its first public concert in Cambridge in 1972. By the time the quartet celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, there had been various changes in the line-up. However, it has continued t ...

; Soloists * Margaret Fingerhut *Yuzuko Horigome *

Felicity Palmer Dame Felicity Joan Palmer, (born 6 April 1944), is an English mezzo-soprano and music professor. She sang soprano roles until 1983. Palmer was born in Cheltenham and educated at Erith Grammar School, now named Erith School. She studied at the ...

Howard Shelley Howard Gordon Shelley (born 9 March 1950) is a British pianist and conductor. He was educated at Highgate School and the Royal College of Music. He was married to fellow pianist Hilary Macnamara (her death), with whom he has performed and reco ...

* John Shirley-Quirk

Awards

*Winner of the Gold Medal for Best Drama - New York International Film Festival *Winner of the Fellini Prize - UNESCO *Winner of the Critics Prize - São Paulo International Film Festival

External links

* * {{Dmitri Shostakovich 1988 drama films 1988 films 1988 independent films 1980s British films 1980s English-language films 1980s musical drama films British biographical films British independent films British musical drama films Cultural depictions of H. G. Wells Cultural depictions of Joseph Stalin Films about classical music and musicians Films about composers Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Tony Palmer Films shot in Greater Manchester Dmitri Shostakovich

Cast

Music

Awards

See also

Further reading

External links