Transcript Music In Soviet Russia-1

Music in Soviet Russia
Classical Music in Russia
 Classical music flourished under
“proletariat rule”
 In Moscow, it centered around the
Grand Hall of the Moscow
Conservatoire
Notable Composers
 Igor Stravinsky
 Considered a revolutionary composer
 Riot after his ballet, The Rite of Spring
 Goes from richly Romantic works, to
“serialism”
 One of the 20th century’s best composers
Stravinsky
Notable Composers
 Sergei Prokofiev
 Not as opposed to the Bolsheviks as many
other composers, like Stravinsky
 Obeys normal musical conventions, though
he allows himself some freedoms.
 Wrote multiple ballets, operas, and film
scores
Prokofiev
Notable Composers
 Dmitrii Shostakovich
 Early music showed influence of Stravinsky and
Prokofiev
 Lady Macbeth of Mtensk
 Moves from “brash humor and experimental
character” to “more introverted melancholy and
nationalistic fervor” to the “defiant and bleak
mood of his last period”
 Soviets wanted him to be the “second
Beethoven”
Shostakovich
Early Soviet Russia
 Lacked both the brilliance of before
the revolution and the censorship that
would come later
 Interested in a “Sovietization” of music
and musical life
 Cultural Transformation
 Musicians were actually major players in
“Sovietization”
“Sovietization” of Music
 The People’s Conservatory
 Opened after the 1905 Revolution
 Courses in Choral Singing and Elementary
Music Theory
“Sovietization” of Music
 Wanted a distinctly Soviet musical culture
 Music was difficult to censor because of it’s
abstraction compared to physical art forms.
 Nationalize conservatories, publishing houses
and theatres.
 Confiscate valuable instruments from private
collections and aristocrats.
“Sovietization” of Music
 There was only one radio station in all
of Russia.
 Comintern Radio
Participation of Workers
 Groups in factories or farm collectives
began putting on little plays, with
music written either by a member of
the group or a pro.
 “There was a lessening of the
revolutionary militancy, a relaxation of
ideological tensions, a greater
permissiveness in matters of musical
taste and style. Some of the new
developments, however, were
unforeseen: the number of music
centres was reduced, the operational
budgets were tightened, and the
government proved less willing to
subsidize unprofitable ventures.”
Works Cited
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" Google Image Result for http://www.classical-composers.org/img/prokofiev.jpg." Google.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.classicalcomposers.org/img/prokofiev.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.classicalcomposers.org/comp/prokofie&h=333&w=234&sz=12&tbnid=imcj5BsMq4oYBM:&tbnh=266&tbnw=187&pre
v=/images%3Fq%3Dimages%2Bof%2BProkofiev&zoom=1 (accessed December 19, 2010).
" Google Image Result for http://www.classical.net/music/images/composer/s/stravinsky.jpg." Google.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.classical.net/music/images/composer/s/stravinsky.j
pg&imgrefurl=http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/stravinsky.php&h=280&w=230&sz=32&tbnid=eBi
GLLLjtOv5PM:&tbnh=224&tbnw=184&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dimage%2Bof%2B (accessed December 19,
2010).
" Google Image Result for http://www.manhattanstringquartet.com/images/Shostakovich_web.jpg."
Google.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.manhattanstringquartet.com/images/Shostakovich_
web.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.manhattanstringquartet.com/Shostakovich.htm&h=430&w=386&sz=12&t
bnid=Nlf7DSCNUxa_wM:&tbnh=126&tbnw=113&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dimages%2Bof (accessed December
19, 2010).
"Classical Music in Soviet Russia." NewsMax.com: America's News Page - News Archives.
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/11/24/85758.shtml (accessed December 18, 2010)
(accessed December 7, 2010).
Works Cited (Cont.)
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Schwarz, Boris. Music and musical life in Soviet Russia, 1917-1970 . New York: W. W. Norton, 1972.
"Sergei Prokofiev - an overview of the classical composer." mfiles. www.mfiles.co.uk/composers/SergeiProkofiev.htm (accessed December 8, 2010).
Cowell, Henry . "Music in Soviet Russia." JSTOR: Russian Review, Vol. 1. No. 2, (April.,1942), pp. 74-79.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/125204 (accessed December 7, 2010).
"Essentials of Music - Composers." Essentials of Music.
http://www.essentialsofmusic.com/composer/stravinsky.html (accessed December 7, 2010).
Guide, All Music. "Dmitry Shostakovich | AllMusic." AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/dmitryshostakovich-q7974/biography (accessed December 8, 2010).
"Igor Stravinsky - Biography." HumanitiesWeb - Welcome.
http://www.humanitiesweb.org/human.php?s=c&p=a&a=i&ID=756 (accessed December 8, 2010).
Nelson, Amy. "Music for the Revolution: Musicians ... - Google Books." Google Books.
http://books.google.com/books?id=Q9MsfCnep64C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Music,+Soviet,+Russia&hl=en
&ei=fmX-TLzAOIq8Aaxqdj8Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false