Alexander Tcherepnin: The Saga of a Russian Ãmigré Composer. Russian Music Studies by Ludmila Korabelnikova , Anna Winestein , Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin (review)
2009; Maney Publishing; Volume: 87; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/see.2009.0068
ISSN2222-4327
Autores Tópico(s)Early Modern Spanish Literature
Resumoreviews 543 inNaplesand Spain.BorisAsvarishch thenconcludeswithtwoessayswhich considerAleksanderGorchakovand various membersof the KushelevBezborodko family. All ofthewriters follow a similar format, providing basicbiographies and background information foreach patron, beforeassessing thenatureoftheir collections as a whole.On occasionthewriting style is rather jejune,as when we read thatNikolaiKushelev-Bezborodko 'understood everything he had seenclearly andfirmly, withall thequickness oftheRussianmind.[.. .] With whatpleasure,withwhatkindness did he receivethe artistor theman of letters' (p. 93).Nevertheless, collectively thefiveessaysservetoemphasizethe centrality ofartistic patronage in thelivesofthesenoblemen, and theimpact whichtheir changing tasteshad on thecultural lifeofthecapitalas a whole. Thus ifTatishchevclearlyfavouredthe Old Masters,witha proclivity for Spanishpainting whichwas relatively unusualin Russiaat thetime,Nikolai Kushelev-Bezborodko, wholeft hiscollection totheImperial AcademyofArts in 1862,can be credited withintroducing a broad Russianpublicto many artists ofthemodernFrenchand Germanschools. The expertise ofthefourmaincontributors in theirrespective subjectsis beyondquestion.Sadly,though, theiressaysare all relatively short, and the volumeas a wholeis slight: ofthebook's 128pages,theessaysoccupyjust eighty-two, and manyoftheseare devotedto illustrations and to individual title pagesforeach essay.The numberand qualityofthereproductions is an undeniablestrength (I particularly enjoyedtheblackand whiteendpapersof theIusupovcollection insitu), butitis regrettable thattheyleave little room fortheauthors toexpandon important developments whichtheyalludetoin their text.Thereiscertainly little inthebookwhichwillnotalreadybe familiar to anyRussianspeakerwithan interest in thisarea. Iusupov' s collecting activities, forexample,havebeen considered in numerous publications, most notably V. A. Mishinaand L. Iu. Savinskaia(eds),'Uchenaia prikhot": kollektsiia kniazia Mkolaia Borisovicha Iusupova (2 vols,Moscow,2001);and Asvarishch has alreadyprovidedan invaluablecommentary on the Kushelev-Bezborodko collectionin Kushelevskaia galereia: zapadnoevropeiskaia zhivopis ' XIX veka(St Petersburg ,1993).Nevertheless, thisvolumewillprovidea general,non-Russian speaking readership witha good introduction to therangeand ambitionof artistic patronageamongtheRussianaristocracy duringa critical periodof Imperialrule. Pembroke College Rosalind P. Blakesley University ofCambridge Korabelnikova, Ludmila. AlexanderTcherepnin: The Saga of a Russian Émigré Composer. Translated byAnnaWinestein. EditedbySue-EllenHershmanTcherepnin . RussianMusicStudies.IndianaUniversity Press,Bloomingtonand Indianapolis, 2008.xix+ 265pp. Illustrations. Musicalextracts. Appendices. Notes.Indexes.$39.95. In September1923,Anna Pavlova gave the Covent Garden premiereof Ajanta'sFrescoes, the ballet that she had commissionedfromthe young 544 SEER> 87> 3> JULY 2009 AleksandrCherepnin(1899-1977).Strikingly enough,it had been another ballet- LePavilion d'Armide - thathad brought Cherepnin's father, Nikolai, to theattention of theWest,whenit opened thefirst season of theBallets russes in 1909.Although Diaghilev's enterprise hasbeentheobjectofconsiderable critical and popularattention formanyyearsnow,and theémigré existenceofcomposers suchas Prokof ev,Metner, Rakhmaninov and Stravinskii hasbeenincorporated moreorlessintothemainstream ofmusichistory both in Russia and theWest,theroleofmusicmorebroadlyin whathas been termed'Russia Abroad' has been less thoroughly studied.It is therefore a pleasureto be able to welcometheappearanceofLudmilaKorabelnikova's accountofthelifeofAleksandr Cherepnin, whichadds significantly to our knowledge bothof the composerhimself and of thefateof Russianmusic beyondthebordersoftheSovietUnion.It usefully complements a growing bodyofexisting work,suchas thediariesof Prokof ev thatare now being systematically translated intoEnglish, or theexploration oftheroleofmusic in theEurasianist movement, whoseinfluence Cherepnin acknowledged, but towhichactualtiesare harderto establish. Although he was theson of a leadingcomposerand teacher,Aleksandr Tcherepnin's musicaltraining was haphazard,althoughhe neverseemsto havedoubtedeither hisgift or hisvocation.Bornintoan artistic family (the brother ofhismaternal grandfather wasAlexandre Benois), hewasvery much one ofthose'children oftheSilverAge' (p. 42),themusicalaspectsofwhich arenicely conveyed byKorabelnikova ina short first chapter. The family fled St Petersburg forGeorgiain 1918,wheretheystayeduntilthearrivalofthe Red Army in 1921;thechapter dealingwiththisperiodshedsimportant light on cultural lifeinthe'NearAbroad'before theconsolidation ofSovietpower madeemigration a morecompelling necessity. Chapters threeand four detail Cherepnin'searlysuccessin Paris,whereit seemshis musicaccordedwell withthecontemporary aesthetics ofgroupssuchas LesSix,as wellas other Europeanmusiciansresident theresuch as Harsányi,Martina,Mihailovici and Tansman:'WhenI cametoParisinthefallof192 1 [.. .] I foundthatmy wayofthinking abouttheprogress in musicwas somehowidentical withthe viewoftheWestern composers ofmygeneration' (p. 187).Accordedthe1925 SchottPrizeforhisConcerto da Camera, he illustrated thecontribution Russian composerscould make to the development of a varietyof international modernism thatnonetheless appearedto respect nationaltraditions (thefact thatmodernFrenchmusichad longlookedto Russiaforinspiration surely also helped).Korabelnikova paintsa rich,ifratherchaoticportrait of the vitality ofRussianmusicallifein Parisat thetime.It wouldbe interesting to knowmoreabout the linksthatCherepninmay have maintained with Sovietcomposers and critics (as Prokof ev did); a reviewby ViktorBeliaev includedas an appendixto chapterfoursuggests thatat thistime,a strict separation betweenSovietand émigré musicians was farfrom entrenched. Throughoutthe 1930s,Cherepnintravelled widely,first to the Middle East,and thento China andJapan,wherehe encouraged localcomposers to exploretheirnativeidiom and took inspiration himself fromfolksources (something he had earlierdone in Georgia).Korabelnikova deals withthis longperiodofwandering (including a final sojourn toMarlowinBuckinghamshire ,as well as a moresettled periodin theUnitedStates)morebriskly, reviews 545 blurring thechronological andaesthetic boundaries ina waythatmight reflect Cherepnin'snomadic life-style but which risksnarrativeand analytical clarity. Littleis said,forinstance, ofhowhe survived theNazi occupationof Paris.The composereventually paid a...
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