Music of the repressed Russian avant-garde, 1900-1929

360 Pages·1994·60.533 MB·English

by  Larry Sitsky

Music of the Repressed
Russian Avant-Garde,
1900-1929
Larry Sit sky
ПАМЯТИ СКРЯБИНА
Я радость светлая Последнего Свершенья
Я в белом пламени сгараюхий алмаз
Я —несказанное блаженство растворенья
Я—радость Смерти,*—свобода, и — экстаз
Вот она, i р.створенки сладостном твердь!
В нашей пляске живей к нам градусах Смерть!
Все мы влюбленный
Ток устремленный
От мига к вечности, в путь к бсскспечнлст*
От камеиной мрачности к светлой прырачвости.
Так как на каменном
Творчеством пламенным
Лик твой божественный
Запечатлели
Зажгись, свяиеввый храм, от пламени Сердец!
Зажгись м ставь святым пожаром!
Смеешь блл.-кгино в нас,о сладостный отец!
Смесись со Смерть» в танце яром'
Родимся в вихрь'
Проснемся в небо!
Cxccaev ьсе чувства в волне единой!
И в блеске роскошном
Рассвета последнего
Являясь друг другу в красе обнаженной
Сверкавших душ
Исчезнем ..
Растаем
Ты будешь,как сумрак, об'ятыН дремой
А вскоре, и.1гаснув,ты станешь я тьмой
с.р.<.. ..0,.«»И"»*« Д.1.Т.М")
Introductory page of Leonid Sabaneev's Piano Sonata, dcdicatcd to the memory of Alckmmdr
Scriubin. (See page 297.) Copyright © 1932 by M. P. Belaieff. Reproduced on behalf of the
copyright owner» by kind permi»»ion of Peter» Kdltion Ltd., London.
Music of the Repressed
Russian Avant-Garde,
1900-1929
Larry Sitsky
Contributions to the Study of Music and Dance,
Number 31
(JREENWOOD PRESS
WoHtport, Connecticut • London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publica(ion Data
Sitsky, Larry.
Music of the repressed Russian avant-garde, 1900-1929 / Larry
Sitsky.
p. cm.—(Contributions to the study of music and dance,
ISSN 0193-9041 ; no. 31)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-313-26709-X
1. Music—Russia—20th century—History and criticism. 2. Music—
Soviet Union—20th century—History and criticism. 3. Avant-garde
(Music) I. Tide. II. Series.
ML300.5.S58 1994
780'.947'09041—dc20 93-35836
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 1994 by Larry Sitsky
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 93-35836
ISBN: 0-313-26709-X
ISSN: 0193-9041
First published in 1994
Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
<§r
The paper uiied in thin book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
iMfninuHiiin MnndunK (>igiini/iilion (/. 1'» -IK 19К4)
10 V H 7 6 5 4 3 2 I
Contents
Preface ix
Abbreviations xiii
Arknowledgements xv
I Historical Background: Anatoliy V. Lunacharsky, the Cultured
Commissar 1
I The Precursors 10
'J Vladimir I. Rebikov: The Inventor of Whole-Tone Music 10
I Alcksei V. Stanchinskiy: The Diatonic Webern 27
II The Big Three 38
4 Nikolai A. Roslavets: The Russian Schoenberg 38
ft AlckHandr V. Mosolov: The Man of Steel 60
П Arthur V. Lourtf: The Decadent Out of Place 87
III The Smaller Five 111
T l.«onld A. Polovinkln: The Partial Avant-Gardist 111
N Vlndliulr V. Shcherbachevi Old Wine in New Vessels 133
U l.«v К. К nippers Wind from the West 149
Contents
10 Boris N. Liatoshinski: The Passionate Slav 158
11 Vladimir M. Deshevov: The Man of the Theater 171
IV The Reluctant Avant-Gardists 183
12 Samuil E. Feinberg: The Post-Scriabin Pianist 183
13 Anatoliy N. Aleksandrov: The Post-Rachmaninovian 199
14 Boris A. Aleksandrov: Son of the Composer of the Soviet
Anthem 214
V The Jewish School 217
15 Aleksandr A. Krein: Voice in the Wilderness 219
16 Grigoriy A. Krein: Toward Assimilation 225
17 Yulian G. Krein: Precocious Cosmopolitan 230
18 Aleksandr M. Veprik: The Ukrainian Bartok and Bloch 236
19 Mikhail F. Gnessin: The Jewish Glinka 242
VI Composers in Exile 248
20 Ivan A. Vyshnegradsky: Microtones 248
21 Nikolai Obukhov: Mystic Beyond Scriabin 254
22 Iosif M. Schillinger: Gershwin's Teacher 264
23 Aleksandr N. Tcherepnine: Suave Internationalist 273
VII Musicologists and Transients 283
24 Sergei V. Protopopov: The Post-Scriabin Composer 283
25 Leonid L. Sabaneev: Would-be Scientist Becomes Critic 291
26 Dmitriy M. Melkikh: Rhapsodist 303
27 Gavrill N. Popov: Contrapuntalist 310
28 Alekscl S. Zhlvotov: Notorloun for One Piece 318
JU Eflin Golyahchevt The Flmt Nnrlnlliit? 323
30 Georgi M. Rimsky-Korsakov: Microtonist
Appendix: Further Scores for Study and Reference
Index

Preface
Soviet and Russian music of the first third of our century - with the exception of the
mimic of a few high-profile composers who were officially sponsored by the State - is
in ill largely unexplored territory, known only to a few specialists. Nevertheless, the
mimic has considerable intrinsic value well beyond its curiosity appeal, and includes
пишу pieces unaccountably forgotten and certainly worth reviving, to the ultimate
enhancement of the concert repertoire. The study of this music also explains much
about the foundations of Soviet culture and its subsequent suppression and decline
under the Stalinist yoke. The purpose of this book is to stimulate interest in this
llillr known area of Russian/Soviet music. The book provides information about
I'unipoNcrs and repertoire that, until now, was not readily available. It is my fervent
ilenlre to reach the widest possible circle of musicians and music lovers, so that this
liwi Hint ing music, suppressed and written out of or dismissed from the history books
liy Soviet authorities, can finally be reinstated to its rightful place in the mainstream
tif mimic.
Since many of these scores are at the moment very difficult to find, I have been
billy lavish in the use of musical examples. It is my view, anyway, that a few bars of
ЙИ1«1с by a composer speak far more loudly and eloquently than pages of descriptive
MI analytic text. The latter can and should support the music itself, which is always
iwutral Otherwise, we have the equivalent of a children's book without pictures.
I lie period in question was one of experimentation and discovery. Various ten-
ilein ICH are apparent, sometimes within one work. Debts and gestures from the past
iiili freely with new ideas. Thus, many of the works are veritable mine fields for
the analyst; indeed, the more elaborate works can probably be made to demonstrate
Whatever the analyst desires. I have resisted the temptation to provide long, verbose,
ami boring directions, being more interested in general concepts (it didn't take much
willpower). My personal orientation as pianist and composer has no doubt colored the
i lti'li« of example». However, the fact is that these composers often used the piano
ня i lin direct vehicle for their experimentation (most of them were pianists to begin
wlili), and no the literature for the instrument was greatly enriched. I hope that my
li'llow pianists will be interested in what they discover in these pages.
I lie fate of the composer Aleksandr Scrlabin in Russia has much bearing on this
book. The Soviets had problems with Scriabin, and these opinions altered as political
winds blew in different directions: he was a decadent, he was influenced by Western
thought, he weakened his creativity by forages into mysticism, he was a prophet of
the revolution, his early works are better than his late ones, and so on. All these
opinions are to be found in Soviet texts. The problem with Scriabin was that he was
Russian not musically, but mystically, and the Soviets had difficulty with that. He
was seemingly never interested in Russian folk music, his origins emanating instead
from the one-movement Liszt symphonic poems. The meaning and symbolism of his
themes had extramusical associations that also presented grave reservations to a new
society avowedly antireligious. Scriabin's followers explored his language, perhaps
without having his mystical interests; but they were tainted by definition. In the days
of the New Economic Policy (see Chapter 1), Scriabin was probably at his nadir, a
point that corresponds to the period of main coverage in this book.
Mythology from both inside and outside Russia suggests to most students of music
that Scriabin was an isolated phenomenon, a one-off composer. One of the exciting
truths to emerge in my investigation of Russian avant-garde music was that Scriabin's
influence was huge, embracing a great number of composers of the following genera-
tion. In the dec side and a half or so following Scriabin's death in 1915, and with the
official sanction of the government, a whole group of composers were encouraged to
create a new revolutionary music, which they did. However, much to their dismay
and, at times, peril, the law of the land changed; what was acceptable one day was
subversive the next, and so, most of the music of that time was consciously allowed
to disappear, at best emerging as a historic curiosity, a demonstrable "mistake" of
its time. Some composers were allowed to continue, as the authorities needed figures
to hold up to the West as examples of progressive Soviet art. Dmitri Shostakovich
was to be one such figure, but his relations with the government were never easy;
though he survived some stormy times, it was at great personal cost. Sergei Prokofiev
was another, though he lived much of his life abroad. A third was of course Aram
Khachaturyan, a representative of ethnic freedom, another showcase of Soviet encour-
agement of minority culture. Much has been written about all of these composers
(considered by many to be the "Big Three" of Soviet art), and I do not intend to say
any more about them.
The uneasy alliance of the Soviet government with its officially recognized artists
was also evident in the case of Nikolai Myaskovsky. However, once more, although
he exhibited certain progressive traits at one stage of his career, I have chosen not to
write about him, as there is sufficient, if not plenty of material on him in English. His
role in bringing composers together and acting as a kind of benevolent uncle to many
of the younger ones, often rescuing them from trouble (an outstanding example is
Aleksandr Mosolov), is a role not to be underestimated. There is much documentary
evidence supporting this view.
To arrive at a culturally comprehensive view of the period, one would ideally
have to study the various movements in painting - the writings of Wassily Kandin-
sky, his connection with Arnold Schoenberg, and his belief concerning the spiritual in
art; the emergence of extreme painters such as Kasimir Malevich; and the veritable
avalanche of differing movements among the painters. During the period covered by
this book, the Russian public experienced Symbolism (Baku!, BenoiH, Kii/.netsov,
Kulbin, Burlyuk, Markov); Neoprimitivwm and CubofuturiNin (Shtvchenko, Gon-
charova, Eketer, Miwhkov, Kuprin, Fulk, Lmitulov, Ro»hd<mtveniikly, Komhalovukly,
Larlonov); Non-objoctlve Art (Roianova, Punl, BogiiHlnvHkftyii, Klyunkov, Mcnkov,