The Reception of Russian Music in Riga During the 1860s and 1870s: The Characteristic Opinions Manifested in Press Reviews

Abstract

The article characterizes the reception of Russian music in Riga in the 1860s and 1870s and highlights the reasons for such a reception. For this purpose, a contextual analysis of the main positions manifested by music critics and their historical background is carried out. Already since the 13th century Germans had dominated the economic, cultural and language spheres of Riga. In the 1860s the situation began to change significantly. This was because of active migration on the part of representatives of other nationalities (Latvians and Russians) to Riga, resulting in an increase in the influence of their communities. In the 1870s, there was a sharp exchange of opposing views between the Russian and German press, for example, the discussion described in this article about the need to open a Russian theater with its own opera troupe in Riga. The reception of several works by Russian composers (Serenade Russe and Caprice Russe by Anton Rubinstein, A Life for the Tsar by Mikhail Glinka), performed in Riga, is also examined. A comparative analysis of the press reviews makes it possible for us to conclude: notwithstanding the manifold political disagreements between the Baltic German and Russian communities of Riga, both sides also tried to search for shared values, and music presented a field not only of rivalry and controversies, but also of a search for mutual understanding. Keywords: Baltic Germans and Russians, sociocultural context, music criticism, Anton Rubinstein, Mikhail Glinka.