Alexander Tcherepnin in China: Chronicle of the Journey That Showed the Way to Chinese Musicians

Abstract

The article is devoted to the Chinese period of creative activity of the Russian composer-emigrant A.N. Tcherepnin (1899—1977). The propaganda of the ideas of synthesis of national music with modern Western compositional technique, conducted by Tcherepnin in China from 1934 to 1937, was of great importance for the development of Chinese musical culture. This article, for the first time, specifies many details of Tcherepnin’s activities in East Asia. There is given the exact chronology of all his four trips to China. The article provides an overview of his creative and pedagogical achievements, as well as family circumstances associated with each of these trips. The authors highlight the first composers’ competition in the history of China, organized on the initiative of Tcherepnin; the establishment of a publishing house promoting the works of Chinese authors; the concert, educational and pedagogical work in Shanghai and Beijing. The article concludes about the reasons why the composer went to China and stayed in this country for a long time. In addition to making a concert tour, a general interest in Chinese culture and a love interest for the future wife (as noted in previous studies), family problems related to the composer’s stepdaughter were of no small importance. There is provided biographical information about Tcherepnin’s relatives who played an important role in the history of his stay in China: Louisine Weekes, his first wife; Li Hsien Ming (Ming Tcherepnin), second wife; Camilla Horvat (Benois), aunt of Alexander Nikolayevich. The article tells about the creation history of the works written by Tcherepnin in China. On the basis of the study, there are revealed certain personality traits of Tcherepnin that led to such an impressive result of his musical and educational activities in China.