Philip Ross Bullock

Lyric and Landscape in Rimsky-Korsakov's Songs

Observing the use of landscape as a category of reception, whether in nineteenth-century debates about artistic realism or Soviet-era criticism, this article examines the uses of landscape in several songs by Rimsky-Korsakov and replaces a persistent emphasis in criticism on questions of representation with a focus on how music generates a sense of subjectivity. Three approaches facilitate a more subtle and variegated understanding of Rimsky-Korsakov9s “soundscapes” than has been proposed so far. First, landscape is interpreted as a facet of Russian national identity in the second half of the nineteenth century. Second, the evocation of the sounds of the natural world is seen as a metapoetic commentary on the creative act, providing an “internal” commentary on landscape to match the “external” one of the nation. Intertwined with these two themes is a series of parallels between music, literature, and the visual arts, which together show that Rimsky-Korsakov9s songs are indicative of a tension between dynamism and stasis that is characteristic of musical representation of landscapes, and that has often been seen as characteristic of Russian music more generally.

Twentieth-century music and politics: essays in memory of Neil Edmunds

Later, once Giselle has joined the Wilis, the ghosts of jilted maidens ruled by queen Myrtha, McDaniel describes Myrtha commanding Giselle to dance: ‘Unable to resist the queen’s order... Giselle performs to the accompaniment of melancholy music, and throughout her dance, she looks toward Albrecht’ (p. 137). While scholars not working specifically on dance may be satisfied with these descriptions, dance historians will require more. For a book tightly focused on ballet, this is a significant drawback, particularly given the book’s attention to ballet’s development in Russia, then the Soviet Union, and the choreographic changes (the emergence of the ‘drambalet’, the artistic reinterpretation of the Romantic classics, the impact of Soviet Realism on works new and old) that ensued. McDaniel is far stronger in her explanation of the latter – how ballet plotlines and performances were intellectually understood and/or reformulated as needed to meet Soviet cultural guidelines. On the other hand, dance historians and scholars in other fields will be thrilled with the inclusion of Russian language primary sources. Building on material from State Department records at the National Archives and a full review of English news media, McDaniel fleshes out her work with analogous pieces on the Soviet side. Thus while the study will not supplant field standards by authors like Naima Prevots, Yale Richmond, David Cautes, or newer work by Christina Ezrahi, it provides a well-researched addition and a welcome focus on dance for Soviet and international relations scholars.

The Feminine in the Prose of Andrey Platonov

Andrey Platonov (1899-1951) is increasingly acknowledged as one of the greatest writers of the Soviet period. His linguistic virtuosity, philosophical rigour and political unorthodoxy combined to create some of the most compellingly absurb works of literautre in any language. Unsurprisingly, many of these remained unpublished in his lifetime, and indeed for many years thereafter. In this lively and original study, Philip Ross Bullock traces the development of feminine imagery in Platonovs prose, from the seemingly misogynist outrage of his early works to the tender reconciliation with domesticity in his final stories, and argues that gender is a crucial feature of the authors audacious utopian vision.

The Pushkin Anniversary of 1937 and Russian Art-Song in the Soviet Union

Abstract This article considers the renaissance of Russian art-song in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, especially around the time of the Pushkin anniversary celebrations of 1937. The lyric — as a poetic and musical form — had enjoyed an uncertain reputation since the October Revolution. In the light of the Pushkin centenary, however, it proved to be a convenient way for composers to participate in the official celebrations. Moreover, the foundation of a Soviet lyric repertoire was an important element in raising the cultural aspirations of the Soviet audience. Equally, the establishment of a Soviet repertoire would suggest that the Soviet Union had matched the cultural achievements of the past. Explicit parallels were made with the musical culture of Pushkins age, and the composers of the 1820s and 1830s were rehabilitated as models of the kind of accessible repertoire that the new era demanded. However, the ambitions of the time were realized only in part. Many composers stuck to tried-and-tested love lyrics, rather than Pushkins more ambitious civic and philosophical lyrics. Moreover, the invocation of the music of the 1820s and 1830s encouraged composers to engage in often characterless stylization. Finally, the fetishization of Pushkin meant that contemporary poets were neglected; the establishment of a truly Soviet art-song repertoire was delayed for several decades.