Books in the Russian Music Studies series

Notoriously reticent about his early years, violinist Jascha Heifetz famously reduced the story of his childhood to "e;Born in Russia. First lessons at 3. Debut in Russia at 7. Debut in Carnegie Hall at 17. That's all there is to say."e; Tracing his little-known upbringing, Jascha Heifetz: Early Years in Russia uncovers the events and experiences that shaped one of the modern era's most unique talents and enigmatic personalities. Using previously unstudied archival materials and interviews with family and friends, this biography explores Heifetz's meteoric rise in the Russian music world-from his first violin lessons with his father, to his studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with the well-known pedagogue Leopold Auer, to his tours throughout Russia and Europe. Spotlighting Auer's close-knit circle of musicians, Galina Kopytova underscores the lives of artists in Russia's "e;Silver Age"e;-an explosion of artistic activity amid the rapid social and political changes of the early 20th century.

This close reading of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress examines the cultural context of its creation and explores its place in the broader history of opera.

Natalie Zelensky examines post-Bolshevik Russian emigration and the popular music culture this community brought to New York City over the past century. Performing Tsarist Russia in New York presents a close historical and ethnographic examination of music's potential as an aesthetic, discursive, and social space through which diasporas can engage with an idea of a mythologized homeland.

Discusses the life and times of Alexander Tcherepnin, a prolific and often emulated composer who produced four operas, 13 ballets, four symphonies, numerous orchestral and chamber works, and more than 200 piano pieces. This book focuses on the biographical elements of Tcherepnin's story, and also on his music and its technical innovations.

In its scope and command of primary sources and its generosity of scholarly inquiry, Nikolai Findeizen's monumental work, published in 1928 and 1929 in Soviet Russia, places the origins and development of music in Russia within the context of Russia's cultural and social history.Volume 2 of Findeizen's landmark study surveys music in court life during the reigns of Elizabeth I and Catherine II, music in Russian domestic and public life in the second half of the 18th century, and the variety and vitality of Russian music at the end of the 18th century.

The piano works of Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) are among the most treasured musical compositions of the twentieth century. This book provides analyses of ten major piano solo works by Shostakovich, carefully noting important stylistic details and specific ways to overcome the numerous musical and technical challenges presented by the music.

Widely considered the virtuosic heir to Liszt, and recognized internationally as an equivalent cultural icon, he performed with most leading musicians of the day, including Liszt himself, Joachim, Clara Schumann, Vieuxtemps, Wieniawski, Saint-Saens, and Ysaÿe.

One man's impact on the performing arts in Russia

Presents a study of musical culture in the court and church of Muscovite Russia. This book offers an account of celebratory musical performances for Russia's first patriarch - events that were displays of Russian piety and power. It emphasizes music's varied roles in Muscovite society and the equally varied opinions and influences surrounding it.

Volume 2 of Findeizen's landmark study surveys music in court life during the reigns of Elizabeth I and Catherine II, music in Russian domestic and public life in the second half of the 18th century, and the variety and vitality of Russian music at the end of the 18th century.

The compositions of Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) are known for their exquisite construction, their unlikely embrace of material from disparate sources, their predisposition for melancholia, and their tremendous beauty. This title presents his life, his works, other composers, and a range of topics in twentieth-century music.

Russian composer, Sofia Gubaidulina has achieved international acclaim for her musical oeuvre which draws on Eastern and Western musical traditions. This biography places her life and the evolution of her work within the cultural and political context of post-Stalin Soviet Union.

Sergei Rachmaninoff-the last great Russian romantic and arguably the finest pianist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries-wrote 83 songs, which are performed and beloved throughout the world. Like German Lieder and French melodies, the songs were composed for one singer, accompanied by a piano. In this complete collection, Richard D. Sylvester provides English translations of the songs, along with accurate transliterations of the original texts and detailed commentary. Since Rachmaninoff viewed these "e;romances"e; primarily as performances and painstakingly annotated the scores, this volume will be especially valuable for students, scholars, and practitioners of voice and piano.