’Marina Ritzarev (Rytsareva) has been writing about eighteenth-century Russian music for several decades now, and this new book finally makes her labours available in comprehensive fashion to an English-language readership. The work is full of strengths, particularly in her mastery of the huge repertory and her equal and very welcome control of the complex archival holdings... The book's historiographical detours ... Read moreare among its strengths and surprises... The volume hits its stride in chapter 4, at mid-century, where the author begins her discussion of the crucial composer Maxim Berezovsky. This is where Ritzarev's many years in the archives pay off and her confidence, authority, and ease of communication really come to the fore. The chapters focusing on the development of the concerto in the hands of both Russian and Western composers are particularly strong... [The] brief concluding section bristles with stimulating information, suggestions, and hypotheses...’ Music and Letters '... a valuable and very interesting book... There is a wealth of information in this book...' Early Music Review ’... Ritzarev’s book it is to be welcomed as an important major work by a major scholar ... Ritzarev is familiar with the relevant sources, has worked extensively in archives and is well placed to comment on existing critical approaches from both Russian and western perspectives... The book is enhanced by a large number of black-and-white illustrations and over a hundred musical examples... Both Ritzarev and Ashgate are to be congratulated on having produced...a book that will satisfy and stimulate readers from a variety of scholarly backgrounds.’ Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies ’... a much awaited publication that fills up a large gap in the history of music... Ritzarev is also one of the world's most knowledgeable, meticulous and yet remarkably interesting-to-read writers about Russian music in general... With the patience and pedantic conscientiousness of Show Less