Wagner in Russia, Poland and the Czech Lands: Musical, Literary and Cultural Perspectives

255 Pages·2013·3.13 MB·English

by  Stephen Muir

Wagner in russia, Poland
and the CzeCh lands
This page has been left blank intentionally
Wagner in russia, Poland
and the Czech lands
Musical, literary and Cultural Perspectives
Edited by
stePhen Muir
University of Leeds, UK
anastasia Belina-Johnson
Leeds College of Music, UK

© stephen Muir and anastasia Belina-Johnson 2013
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
stephen Muir and anastasia Belina-Johnson have asserted their right under the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the editors of this work.
Bach musicological font © Yo tomita
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Wagner in russia, Poland and the Czech lands : musical, literary, and cultural
perspectives/edited by stephen Muir and anastasia Belina-Johnson.
pages cm
includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4094-6226-2 (hardcover) – ISBN 978-1-4094-6227-9 (ebook) –
isBn 978-1-4094-6228-6 (epub) 1. Wagner, richard, 1813-1883 – appreciation –
russia. 2. Wagner, richard, 1813-1883 – appreciation – Poland. 3. Wagner, richard,
1813-1883 – Appreciation – Czechoslovakia. 4. Wagner, Richard, 1813-1883 – Influence.
5. Opera – Russia. 6. Opera – Poland. 7. Opera – Czechoslovakia. I. Muir, Stephen
(stephen P. K.) ii. Belina-Johnson, anastasia.
Ml410.W13W124 2013
782.1092–dc23
2013013625
ISBN 9781409462262 (hbk)
ISBN 9781409462279 (ebk – PDF)
ISBN 9781409462286 (ebk – ePUB)
V
Contents
List of Music Examples vii
Dates, Transliteration, and Original Language Quotations ix
Notes on Contributors xi
Foreword: So Much More than a Composer by Richard Taruskin xv
Preface: From the Editors xxxiii
1 ‘One can learn a lot from Wagner, including how not to write
operas’: Sergey Taneyev and his Road to Wagner 1
Anastasia Belina-Johnson
2 ‘The end of opera itself’: Rimsky-Korsakov and Wagner 23
Stephen Muir
3 How Russian was Wagner? Russian Campaigns to Defend or
Destroy the German Composer during the Great War (1914–1918) 49
Rebecca Mitchell
4 Prophecy of a Revolution: Aleksey Losev on Wagner’s
Aesthetic Outlook 71
Vladimir Marchenkov
5 ‘The great little man’: Dvořák and Wagner 93
Jan Smaczny
6 Wagnerism in Moravia: Janáček’s First Opera, Šárka 119
Michael Ewans
7 ‘Where the King Spirit becomes manifest’: Stanisław Wyspiański
in Search of the Polish Bayreuth 137
Radosław Okulicz-Kozaryn
8 The Reception of Wagner’s Music and Ideas in Poland during the
Communist Years (1945–1989) 159
Magdalena Dziadek
Bibliography 185
Index 207
List of Music Examples
1.1 Taneyev, Oresteia, Prelude, opening: ‘Wrongdoing’ motif 17
1.2 Taneyev, Oresteia (Act I, scene 6), entry of Agamemnon 18
1.3 Taneyev, Oresteia (Act II, scene 19), Orestes as a wanderer 19
2.1 Rimsky-Korsakov, Iz Gomera, introduction (fig. 1), trombone entry 36
2.2a Rimsky-Korsakov, Kashchey bessmertnïy, scene i (bar 1), themes of
Kashchey and the Princess 39
2.2b Rimsky-Korsakov, Kashchey bessmertnïy, scene iii (4 bars before
fig. 93), theme of Ivan Korolevich 40
2.3 Rimsky-Korsakov, Kashchey bessmertnïy, scene I (fig. 32), tritone
sustained throughout snow-storm episode 40
2.4 Rimsky-Korsakov, Kitezh, Act III (24 bars after fig. 246), sustained
tritone at end of Act III 41
2.5 Rimsky-Korsakov, Kitezh, Prelude (bars 5–13), ‘Hymn to the
wilderness’ 41
2.6 Rimsky-Korsakov, Sadko, end of Tableau II, ‘the red sun rises’ 44
5.1 Dvořák, Cello Concerto in A major (B 10), mvt I, bb. 119–27 98
5.2 Dvořák, Alfred (B 16), Act I, scene 3, Harald’s ‘Schlachtlied’,
opening 99
5.3a Dvořák, Král a uhlíř (B 21), hunters’ theme 102
5.3b Dvořák, Král a uhlíř (B 21), hunters’ theme developed texturally 102
5.4 Dvořák, Stabat Mater (B 71), ‘Inflammatus’, bb. 66–9 105
5.5 Dvořák, Svatební košile (B 135), ‘Maria panno, při mnĕ stůj’,
opening 110
5.6 Dvořák, Requiem Mass (Op. 89, B 165), start of ‘Tuba Mirum’ 112
5.7a Dvořák Dimitrij, first version, 1881–82 (B 127), Act IV prelude,
opening 113
5.7b Dvořák Dimitrij, second version, 1894 (B 186), Act IV prelude,
opening 113
6.1 Janáček, Šárka, Act I, fig. 11, b. 9, the nightingale sings 127
6.2 Janáček, Šárka, Act I, fig. 2, bb. 11–15 127
6.3 Janáček, Šárka, Act II, fig. 18, bb. 2–3 128
6.4a Janáček, Šárka, Act I, fig. 31, bb. 9–11 130
6.4b Wagner, Die Walküre, Act III, scene 3, p. 973 130
6.5a Janáček, Šárka, Act II, fig. 20, bb. 10–12, awakening love 131
viii Wagner in Russia, Poland and the Czech Lands
6.5b Wagner, Die Walküre, Act I, scene 1, pp. 25–6, awakening love 131
6.6 Janáček, Šárka, Act I, fig. 2, bb 19–24, Romantic style turns to
a repeated ostinato 131
6.7 Janáček, Šárka, Act I, fig. 12, bb. 9–11, approach of the warrior
maidens 132
6.8 Janáček, Šárka, Act II, fig. 2, bb. 10–12, speech-melody generates
orchestral ostinato 132
6.9 Janáček, Šárka, Act II, fig. 5, bb. 16–18, Tristanesque harmony 135
Dates, Transliteration, and Original
Language Quotations
Dates
All dates in this book before 1 February 1918 are given according to the Old Style
(Julian) calendar. All other dates are given according to the New Style (Gregorian)
calendar. Occasionally, where appropriate, both dates are given to add clarity.
Transliteration
We have adopted the New Grove system of Russian transliteration in this book:
see The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie, 6th edn
(20 vols, London: Macmillan, 1980), vol. 1, pp. xvi–xvii. In line with common
practice, certain modifications have been made within the main body of the
text, primarily to aid pronunciation: (i) common words, especially names, retain
the form most often encountered in British English (for example, Tchaikovsky
instead of Chaykovskiy); (ii) the Russian adjectival ending ‘-ий’ at the end of
names is given simply as ‘y’ instead of the rather inelegant ‘iy’. In footnotes
and bibliography, however, sources are cited in strict transliteration, or as they
appear on book covers. Whilst this policy may give rise to inconsistencies between
the main text and footnotes, and sometimes within individual footnotes, it is
nevertheless a compromise accepted by most writers on Russian subjects.
Original Language Quotations
Wherever possible, quotations from foreign-language sources are given both in
translation and in their original form. The original language of short quotations (a
few words or a short sentence) is generally given within the main text; otherwise,
original sources are provided in the footnotes. Verse originals are always given
in the text, immediately after the translation. Occasionally, where providing the
original language is not germane to the full understanding of the topic in hand, it
is not provided at all.