Music in Exile: Russian Émigré Composers and their Search For National Identity

Abstract

This article is a discussion of the most recent and contemporary Russian musical diaspora. It explores how Russian composers feel about their nationality, what 'Russianness' might mean when applied to music, and whether the compositions of émigré composers can be regarded as Russian in a national sense. Composers discussed include the Russian-born German-Jewish Al'fred Shnitke, who emigrated to Germany in the 1990s, Nikolai Korndorf, who spent the last decade of his life (1991–2001) in Canada, Aleksandr Raskatov, who divides his time between France and Germany, and Ivan Sokolov, who travels between Germany and Russia. The author addresses the question of musical identity using the tools of cognitive musicology, exploring ethnic and socio-cultural roots which embrace not only folk and classical traditions, but also other elements of 'imperial' Russian culture, including patriotic Soviet songs, pre-war tango, and underground 'guitar poetry'. By examining the representation of Russian identity in the music of émigré composers, the author approaches an understanding of how these composers interact in multiple ways within their profession.