week 3 katcahchurian and kabel 2014
TRANSCRIPT
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Week 3 Khachaturian and Kabalevsky
• The insider and outsiders. • The events a8er the war in Soviet Music – Zhadanovshchina.
• Profiles of the Music of Khachaturian as an Armenian composer.
• Kabalevsky – children’s music – and his meanness in the events of 1946-‐9.
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Adagio from Spartacus (1954)
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Essay Ntles
• Contrast the music styles and personaliNes of Profokiev and Khachaturian. How did their experiences of living in the Soviet Union affect their musical development? Use a range of musical examples.
• What was ‘socialist realism’ and how did it translate in terms of musical styles. Take works by at least two composers of the Soviet era and show how socialist realism informed these works.
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Purges of 1948
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Insiders and outsiders
• Aram Khachaturian was a leading composer of the generaNon born into the Soviet system.
• Rose to be chairman of the organising commiYee (Orgkomitet) of the Composers Union – dismissed in the the purge of 1948 – listed as anN-‐people composer. Replaced by 34 year-‐old Tikhon Krennikov.
• Kabalevsky preserved his insider status through his party contacts – Popov the fall-‐guy
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Aram Khachaturian (1903-‐78)
• One of the three Ntans of Soviet Music (with Shostakovich and Prokofiev).
• CombinaNon of Armenian folk music within a language of European classical music – but constrained by working within the soviet system.
• A true believe in the Socialist project – a naNonalist composer but his naNonalism was in the form approved of by the soviet system.
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Background • First 19 years in Armenia – did not have a musical educaNon and taught himself to read music and play piano – however deeply interested in the folk music he heard around him.
• Armenian family – born in Tiflis (capital of Georgia) – not in Armenia. Youngest of 5 of a bookbinder-‐shop owner.
• 1920 Armenia declared a Soviet republic – Aram joined a propaganda troupe touring Georgian-‐Armenia. A commiYed Soviet idealist.
• From 1922 Gnessin academy.
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To Moscow 1929
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Move to Moscow from 1921
• ConservaNore in 1929 – started study of music from near scratch – with Myakovsky for orchestraNon. Also studied cello. Brother a well-‐established in Moscow as theatre director. Rose fast as he had superb proletarian profile.
• Joined the Composer’s Union – deputy chairman Moscow branch 1937-‐ Chairman of Organising commiYee 1939.
• Joined Communist Party in 1939.
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An Armenian Composer
• All his works have a clear strain of Armenian idenNty in them – although he led the life of a cosmopolitan Russian.
• Melodies and rhythms especially. • However the orchestraNon is rich and western .
• First Symphony (wrote 3 – the third a Symphony-‐Poem) brings these elements together.
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The First Symphony 1934
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Ballets
• Perhaps best know for his Ballet Scores • Gayane (1939-‐41) – famous Sabre Dance. • Spartacus (1950-‐54) • Both have orchestral suites drawn from them which are widely played.
• Large amount of incidental music (for plays and producNons) and film scores.
• Also chamber music, songs and piano music.
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Piano Concerto
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Piano Concerto
• TradiNonal form – like late romanNc concerto. Heroic opening themes followed by lyrical secondary themes.
• Slow myt – variaNons on folk-‐ song from Tiblisi – featuring the Flexatone.
• Finale – lively dance – big cadenza for soloist. • Violin Concerto
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Flexatone
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Piano Concerto (1936) and War
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Gayane
• 4 act ballet, first staged 1942. • Original version (later wholly revised) about a young Armenian woman whose patrioNsm conflicts with love of treasonable husband. Love betrayal and friendship in Armenian sejng. Kolkhoz collecNve farm in mountains – Giko (Gayane’s husband is a lazy drunkard). Kazakov (Soviet commander arrives) – husband jealous. Giko works with smugglers – Giko is caught but Gayane is stabbed by him. Gayane recovers and marries Kazakov (loyal officer) – lots of folk dancing – costume and display of orientalism.
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Story and Music
• Simple story – to allow for lots of colourful dancing.
• Performed for Stalin – and a modest success. • Excerpts sNll danced today – ethnic diversity of collecNve farm is celebrated in score.
• Three orchestral suites from score are frequently played.
• Helped the survival of character dancing within classical Ballet tradiNon.
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Gayane (1939-‐41) Sabre Dance
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War – Masquerade
• Russia entered war in 1942 and his hopeless unNl Stalingrad and the siege of Leningrad. The Nde is turned by 1943 and the long road to Berlin starts as Russia takes back Eastern Europe.
• A great Nme for the arts in Russia – people could speak freely and Russians relearnt patrioNsm. The Great Patriot War.
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War, Second Symphony, and a8ermath
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Disaster of Zhadanov Decrees of 1948
• Zhadanov encouraged younger generaNon to damthe established leaders work as ‘formalisNc distorNons and anN-‐democraNc tendencies which are alien to the Soviet people and its arNsNc taste’ .
• Composers acknowledged their guilt and went to compose simplisNc accessible works – Shostakovich (The Song of Forests), Prokofiev (On Guard for Peace), Myakovsky (27th Symphony.
• Soviet Music is forging ahead – set of essays to show how the decree had helped Soviet Music.
• Spartacus got caught up in the poliNcs – the subject should have been acceptable but suddenly was not.
• Quickly rehabilitated such that Khachaturian got the Stalin Prize in 1950.
• Khachaturian aYacked. Odd as Khatchaturian was never a modernist.
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RehabilitaNon
• Made Professor at Gnessin State Musical InsNtute and Moscow Conservatoire 1951.
• Scandal and rehabilitaNon of Spartacus. 1954.
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1953 Stalin Dies – Violin Concerto
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Later Years • Few big pieces a8er 1960 – lots of conducNng and teaching.
• Four Stalin prizes, Lenin Prize, Hero of Socialist Labor. Deputy in the Fi8h Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (1952-‐62).
• A true believer in the Soviet experiment. • Crushed by the accusaNon of being an anN-‐people composer.
• He aimed always to be approachable and appealing in his blend of socialist realism and Armenian Folk.
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Dmitry Kabalevsky (1904-‐1987)
• Pianist and much of his music is for piano. • Like Shostakovich an accomplished silent cinema pianist.
• 1925 to Moscow Conservatory. • Joined party in 1940 and editor of music magazine.
• Name removed from list of accused by Zhadanov of formalism.
• Embraced socialist realism in all his music.
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PoliNcs
• joined PROKULL (ProducNon CollecNve of Student Composers)
• AcNve in student group affiliated with Moscow Conservatory aimed at bridging the gap between the modernism of the ACM and the uNlitarian music of the RAPM
• PoliNcally acNve as a musician and composer
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Children’s Music
• Wrote a large amount of it. • Set up programme of music educaNon in soviet schools.
• Always involved in state music educaNon in Soviet Union.
• Also wrote songs, chamber music and some opera. But a large amount of piano music.
• Always an insider.
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Rondo – Toccata op.60 no.4
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Bibliography
• Khachaturian Documentary DVD. In library. • Hans Gunther, ed. The Culture of the Stalin Period, 122-‐48 ‘The Birth of Socialist Realism from the Spirit of the Russian Avant-‐Garde’.
• Nicolas Slominsky: WriNngs on Music: Russian and Soviet Music and Composers (2004).
• G. Khubov: Aram Khachaturian (Moscow, 1962)