In this eagerly anticipated book, Boris Gasparov gazes through the lens of music to find an unusual perspective on Russian cultural and literary history. He discusses six major works of Russian music from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, showing the interplay of musical texts with their literary and historical sources within the ideological and cultural contexts of their times. Each musical work becomes a tableau representing a moment in Russian history, and together the works form a coherent story of ideological and aesthetic trends as they evolved in Russia from the time of Pushkin to the rise of totalitarianism in the 1930s.
Gasparov discusses GlinkasRuslan and Ludmilla (1842), MussorgskysBoris Godunov (1871) andKhovanshchina (1881), TchaikovskysEugene Onegin (1878) andThe Queen of Spades (1890), and Shostakovichs Fourth Symphony (1934). Offering new interpretations to enhance our understanding and appreciation of these important works, Gasparov also demonstrates how Russian music and cultural history illuminate one another.
“A dazzling thesis, presented by one of the Slavic field’s most creative and versatile cultural historians.”—Caryl Emerson, Princeton University
Boris Gasporovis professor of Russian and Slavic Studies at Columbia University.
In this highly original view of six nineteenth- and twentieth-century works of Russian music, Boris Gasparov shows the fascinating interplay of music and cultural history. Each musical workfrom Glinkas
Ruslan and Ludmilla toShostakovichs Fourth Symphonybecomes a tableau representing a moment in Russian history and reflecting cultural trends.
A dazzling thesis, presented by one of the Slavic fields most creative and versatile cultural historians. Caryl Emerson, Princeton University
Gasparov's erudition and mastery of both fields are awe-inspirinls£
![Five Operas and a Symphony Word and Music in Russian Culture [Hardcover]](/itemImage/2/6/9/4/2_815301.jpg "Five Operas and a Symphony Word and Music in Russian Culture [Hardcover] xxx")