Patrick Zuk and Marina Frolova-Walker (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780197266151
- eISBN:
- 9780191860034
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266151.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
This volume of essays provides an overview of the transformation that the study of Russian music since 1917 has undergone since glasnost’, both in Russia itself and outside it. Prior to this, ...
More
This volume of essays provides an overview of the transformation that the study of Russian music since 1917 has undergone since glasnost’, both in Russia itself and outside it. Prior to this, scholars on both sides of the Iron Curtain confronted formidable practical difficulties. In the USSR, the operation of strict censorship and ideological constraints seriously hindered the development of scholarship. In the West, ideological perspectives engendered by the Cold War hindered an objective appraisal of many aspects of Soviet cultural life. The changed climate of the post-Soviet period has obviated many of these difficulties, and acted as a powerful stimulus to the development and expansion of the discipline. The seventeen chapters are grouped under six thematic headings. Those in Part I explore the most conspicuous trends and changes in emphasis in recent scholarship, as well as assessing the extent to which pre-glasnost’ ideological perspectives continue to hinder progress. Part II focuses on reappraisals of Socialist Realism and other important topics pertaining to music and musical life of the Stalinist era. Part III examines the damaging effects of censorship on Soviet musicology, and Part IV on recent developments in Shostakovich studies, an area which has been the locus of particularly fierce controversies. Part V focuses on the Russian musical diaspora. The three essays in Part V are concerned with the ways in which the difficult transition to the post-Soviet era has affected Russian compositional activity.Less
This volume of essays provides an overview of the transformation that the study of Russian music since 1917 has undergone since glasnost’, both in Russia itself and outside it. Prior to this, scholars on both sides of the Iron Curtain confronted formidable practical difficulties. In the USSR, the operation of strict censorship and ideological constraints seriously hindered the development of scholarship. In the West, ideological perspectives engendered by the Cold War hindered an objective appraisal of many aspects of Soviet cultural life. The changed climate of the post-Soviet period has obviated many of these difficulties, and acted as a powerful stimulus to the development and expansion of the discipline. The seventeen chapters are grouped under six thematic headings. Those in Part I explore the most conspicuous trends and changes in emphasis in recent scholarship, as well as assessing the extent to which pre-glasnost’ ideological perspectives continue to hinder progress. Part II focuses on reappraisals of Socialist Realism and other important topics pertaining to music and musical life of the Stalinist era. Part III examines the damaging effects of censorship on Soviet musicology, and Part IV on recent developments in Shostakovich studies, an area which has been the locus of particularly fierce controversies. Part V focuses on the Russian musical diaspora. The three essays in Part V are concerned with the ways in which the difficult transition to the post-Soviet era has affected Russian compositional activity.
Patrick Zuk
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780197266151
- eISBN:
- 9780191860034
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266151.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
This chapter offers an overview of the principal developments in scholarship on Soviet music over the last two decades, highlighting notable achievements and the opening up of important new areas of ...
More
This chapter offers an overview of the principal developments in scholarship on Soviet music over the last two decades, highlighting notable achievements and the opening up of important new areas of study, in addition to assessing the extent to which perspectives on the period have undergone considerable change. It concludes with a discussion of the sizeable lacunae in knowledge that remain, and attempts to suggest potentially fruitful areas for further enquiry.Less
This chapter offers an overview of the principal developments in scholarship on Soviet music over the last two decades, highlighting notable achievements and the opening up of important new areas of study, in addition to assessing the extent to which perspectives on the period have undergone considerable change. It concludes with a discussion of the sizeable lacunae in knowledge that remain, and attempts to suggest potentially fruitful areas for further enquiry.
