Abstract
Musical histories of the Cold War frequently emphasise the impact of American musical tours to socialist countries and the ‘weaponisation’ of modernist music, supposedly representative of the cultural freedom exclusive to the capitalist West, against the strict confines of Socialist Realism. This narrative, however, denies the vast output of classical music from the USSR and the brilliance of Soviet classical musicians, who consistently dominated international music competitions.   This paper explores the British reception of visiting Soviet classical musicians to the UK from a multi-layered perspective. Starting with an analysis of the ways Anglo-Soviet musical exchanges were carried out through official government agreements, it goes beyond the traditional political focus to highlight the hitherto neglected role of British impresarios Victor and Lilian Hochhauser in coordinating Anglo-Soviet musical exchanges, and their fundamental importance to the success of such performances in Britain. It also examines interactions between Soviet and British musicians, and the relevance of these relationships to cultural diplomacy more broadly. The final section explores how Soviet music was presented to British audiences in programme notes and received in the broadsheet press. 
Highlights
Musical histories of the Cold War frequently emphasise the impact of American musical tours to socialist countries and the ‘weaponisation’ of modernist music, supposedly representative of the cultural freedom exclusive to the capitalist West, against the strict confines of Socialist Realism
This paper explores the British reception of visiting Soviet classical musicians to the UK from a multi-layered perspective
Mayhew’s initial objective of breaking down the supposed cultural isolation of Soviet people and disrupting their ties with British communists required more than formal protocol and political interactions
Summary
‘I think [the Russians] felt, as I myself did increasingly, that the true value of exchanges was not for bringing people together, or for displaying goodwill or for promoting an ideology. A Labour MP and Foreign Office (FO) official, had been instrumental in the creation of the Information Research Department (IRD) as a subset of the FO in 1948, an ideologically driven project to organise Britain’s propaganda defence against Soviet socialism. He continued to be deeply involved in negotiations regarding Anglo-Soviet cultural exchanges. His comment above epitomises the growing difficulties he encountered in the attempt to shoehorn culture, classical music, into a rigid political framework. Recently has the aesthetic turn in international political theory encouraged researchers to explore cultural representation
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