Russians on Russian Music, 1880-1917 An Anthology

Explores the reactions of leading critics to new Russian music in the period 1880-1917.

This second anthology of Russian writing on Russian music begins in 1880 (where the first volume concluded) and ends in 1917. It brings the thoughts of leading Russian music critics to an English-speaking readership as they react to the Russian music that is new to them, during a period when all aspects of musical life were developing rapidly. Music criticism had become more sure-footed, if no less opinionated. These reviews demonstrate greater awareness both of music history and of contemporary music abroad. The period covers the late careers of Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov as well as late works by Borodin and Balakirev, and the emergence of Mussorgsky's compositions. Works by the intervening generation, including Arensky, Glazunov and Lyadov, are also reviewed and the book concludes with coverage of works by the Moscow School, including Medtner, Rachmaninoff and Skryabin and the early compositions of Stravinsky and Prokoviev.

Preface; Introduction; List of sources; 1. Tchaikovsky; 2. Rimsky-Korsakov; 3. Other composers of the former Balakirev circle; 4. The Belyayev generation; 5. Moscow and her composers; 6. New stylistic directions; Epilogue; Index.

This second anthology of Russian music criticism brings to an English-speaking readership the reactions of leading critics to new Russian music in the period 1880-1917. These years found Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin in their prime, and saw several new generations emerge.

Stuart Campbell is Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Music and at the Institute for Central and East European Studies, University of Glasgow. He is author of V. F. Okoyevsky and the Formation of Russian Musical Taste in the Nineteenth Century (1989) and editor and translator of Russians on Russian Music, 1830–1880 (Cambridge, 1994).