Artamonova , E. A. Lukina , G. U. Tabachnikova , O. M. Russian-British Intercultural Dialogue: Russian Music in Britain (review)

Abstract

REVIEWS 753 All in all, it is extremely disheartening that such a worthwhile project based on a wealth of research material has been handled in such a way as to be so much less rewarding than anticipated. London Nick Worrall Artamonova, E. A., Lukina, G. U. and Tabachnikova, O. M. (eds). RussianBritish Intercultural Dialogue: Russian Music in Britain — British Music in Russia / Rossiisko-britanskii kul´turnyi dialog: russkaia muzyka v Velikobritanii — britanskaia muzyka v Rossii. Gosudarstvennyi institut iskusstvoznaniia and the University of Central Lancashire, Moscow, 2020. 447 pp. Illustrations. Music examples. Notes. Price unknown. This handsomely produced volume on British-Russian musical relations derives from what must have been a most stimulating conference held in the State Institute of Art Studies in Moscow and the Music Department of the University of Central Lancashire, as part of the Russian-British year of music in 2019. The team of contributors comprises approximately twice as many Russians (whether or not they still live in that country) as others, and for that reason the main, although very far from only, readership may be of those with Russian. The book is in five parts, 1: Historical Comprehension of Russian-British Cultural Dialogue (Interviews and Meetings); 2: Creative Heritage of Russian and British Musicians in the Cultural Life of the Twentieth and Early TwentyFirst Centuries; 3: Russian Musicians in England and English Musicians in Russia; 4: Historical Evidence for Russian-British Cultural Interaction; 5: Artistic Facets in the Cultural Crossover: Music, Literature, Theatre. It ends with brief notes about the authors with portraits, substantial abstracts of their contributions as well as keywords, all in both Russian and English. The interviews and reminiscences of Part 1 are fascinating, ranging from Britten to Iudina, with some typically lively anecdotes surrounding Rostropovich (including his practising obeisance in a quiet churchyard in expectation of a meeting with Princess Mary in Harewood House). Also entertaining is Elizabeth Wilson’s account of her stay in Russia (where early on she was sternly informed that Handel was not only not English, but also a socialist, the proof being the Hallelujah Chorus, which demonstrated conclusively that the workers were joyful). In Part 2 there are two articles about a man who epitomized musical links between Russia and the West, the late Professor Aleksandr Ivashkin: by Ol´ga Tabachnikova in a Russian translation of an article first published in English, and by his pupil, Elena SEER, 99, 4, OCTOBER 2021 754 Artamonova, who writes of a dialogue of cultures, revealing many aspects of this remarkable man; she also contributes an interesting article based on recent archival findings and publications relating to musical links between the countries during World War Two and the Thaw. Viktoria Zora writes about the musical exchanges of the 1940s, while Rustem Kudoiarov considers Britten’s Piano Concerto and its creative connections with Soviet Russia, a land with which Alan Bush (as Amrei Fleichsig reminds us) had political as well as cultural sympathies. Finally in this section, Paolo Eustachi writes about Michael Nyman, who wrote music for Dziga Vertov’s silent film, Man with a Movie Camera. The latter article is only in English, as are Vladimir Marchenko’s piece on Tarkovskii’s production of Boris Godunov as an artistic credo, and Caitlin Smith’s on the merits of Brodkii’s rather than Auer’s version of Chaikovskii’s Violin Concerto. Many more contributions are only in Russian, except those by Vladimir Jurowski and Gerard McBurney reviewing musical connections between Britain and Russia, violist Martin Outram’s interview, which touches particularly on the interest of Bax and MacMillan in Russia but where he speaks mainly about Peter Maxwell Davies, and, thirdly, Jane Hanson’s recollections of working with Evgenii Svetlanov. All these are published in both languages. Unfortunately, the interview with Aleksandr Vustin and Elizabeth Wilson is only in English. Part 3 on musicians visiting each other’s countries include Elena Dolinskaia, who adds some details to our knowledge of Medtner in Britain; pianist and composer Ivan Sokolov reminisces about his connections with this country; and Svetlana Lashchenko writes about the disastrous visit to Russia of the otherwise successful prima donna Clara Novello in 1839. Part 4 begins with George Lapshynov (De...