Synopses & Reviews
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 Glinkaand#8217;s Ruslan and Ludmilla (1842), Mussorgskyand#8217;s Boris Godunov (1871) and Khovanshchina (1881), Tchaikovskyand#8217;s Eugene Onegin (1878) and The Queen of Spades (1890), and Shostakovichand#8217;s 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.
Review
and#8220;A dazzling thesis, presented by one of the Slavic fieldand#8217;s most creative and versatile cultural historians.and#8221;and#8212;Caryl Emerson, Princeton University
Review
"Gasparov's erudition and mastery of both fields are awe-inspiring, and one hopes he will continue to publish onand#160; the subject. . . . A particular familiarity with the subject matter allows Gasparov to narrate with a sense of authority rarely encountered in such interdisciplinary studies. . . . Gasparov reaffirms the significance in Russian culture, and his refreshing approach is to analyze musical works as complementsand#8212;rather than accompanimentsand#8212;to their literary counterparts."and#8212;Tony H. Lin, Slavic and East European Journal
Synopsis
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 workand#151;from Glinkaand#8217;s
Ruslan and Ludmilla to Shostakovichand#8217;s Fourth Symphonyand#151;becomes a tableau representing a moment in Russian history and reflecting cultural trends.and#160;
About the Author
Boris Gasporov is professor of Russian and Slavic Studies at Columbia University.