Question by Mr Hobojo: How did the reception of Russian Avant-garde music (1917-1927) affect the subsequent generation of composers?
Regarding the treatment of early soviet modernist composers (Roslavets, Lourie, Prokofiev…) and their ideals, how did this affect the ideals and music of the next generation of composers? (Shostakovich, Shebalin, Shaporin and even as far as Khachaturian and Kabalevsky if valid).
Any reading reccommendations would be well recieved, as I am fascinated in Russian history, and would love to learn more!
Answers and Views:
Answer by Senza_nonsense
Here’s a few different book searches you might find helpful
http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=russia+music+20th+century&fq=dt%3Abks+%3E+-fm%3Afic+%3E+-fm%3Ajuv+%3E+ln%3Aeng&se=yr&sd=desc&qt=sort_yr_desc
http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=su%3AMusic+Russia+%28Federation%29+20th+century+History+and+criticism.&fq=dt%3Abks+%3E+ln%3Aeng&qt=facet_ln%3A
http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=russia+composers+20th+century&fq=dt%3Abks+%3E+-fm%3Ajuv+%3E+ln%3Aeng&se=yr&sd=desc&qt=sort_yr_desc
Read all the answers in the comments.
What do you think?
Edik says
Shebalin was a professor at the Moscow conservatory for years, and supposedly met in secret with some of his students, triggering a new Soviet avant-garde movement in the 1950s-60s. (Schnittke, Denisov, Gubaidulina, Volkonsky, and others). I know that Denisov, at least, had a great deal of respect for Roslavets' music.
I think that generally, this later generation of Soviet composers struggled with their own identity as composers. They seem to have been as much (more??) interested in discovering the little-known (in the Soviet Union) works of Schoenberg and Webern.
I'd recommend that you read Schmelz's dissertation, if you can get a hold of it. I forget the title, but it's great. He also has an article in the Journal of the American Musicological Society (vol. 58, no. 1) called "Andrey Volkonsky and the Beginnings of Unofficial Music in the Soviet Union." It's got the most important parts of the diss.
And, of course, get ahold of Richard Taruskin's book "Defining Russia Musically." (Taruskin was Schmelz's advisor, for what it's worth…)
Good luck with this fascinating era of music history!
jasiek130680 says
Do you mean subsequent generation of Russian composers? It's hard to answer this question. Please note that the cultural policy of Soviet Politburo from 30s was banning such compositions. That's the way why young Shostakovich is so different from the one of 1935 (and later). The same happened to Prokofiev. The only way to survive for composers in Soviet Imperium was returning to tradition (post-romantic or neo-classical). The results were surprisingly excellent, and the composers fulfilled their works with symbols and alusions. If you listen to the works of the real dissident composers like Gubaidulina or Ustvolskaya, you can find some reminiscences of the avant-garde music of Russia's 20s, but mostly the individual music language created in isolation. Kabalevsky and Khachaturian were "pink poodles" of the regime, so I'm not going to waste your time writing about those class C composers. See "sources" for some fine links. Hugs