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A Russian Mystic in the Age of Aquarius: The U.S. Revival of Alexander Scriabin in the 1960s

A Russian Mystic in the Age of Aquarius: The U.S. Revival of Alexander Scriabin in the 1960s LINCOLN M. BALLARD Nearly every account of the Russian composer Alexander Scriabin (1872­ 1915) mentions the love-hate relationship critics and audiences have had with his music. Scriabin's supreme confidence in his creative powers convinced him that his music could affect the world at large, and while this megalomaniacal streak attracted devotees, it challenged writers to provide impartial assessments of his output. Several commentators have insisted that Scriabin's historical value can only be measured "in an atmosphere free of the incense that clouded the minds of his earliest admirers," as Hugh Macdonald put it in 1978.1 Scriabin's reception offers a powerful lens through which to examine the individuals and organizations that promoted Russian music in the United States as well as taste-making critics' views on modern style, but scholars have devoted little attention to his reception. Olga Tompakova and Gareth Thomas each catalogued the fame his music enjoyed in England in the 1910s­1920s, but his presence in the United States remains poorly documented.2 Scriabin's works may have been performed more often in his homeland and in England than in the United States before 1930, but they enjoyed a concurrent vogue in America, especially due to his well-publicized interests in http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png American Music University of Illinois Press

A Russian Mystic in the Age of Aquarius: The U.S. Revival of Alexander Scriabin in the 1960s

American Music , Volume 30 (2) – Feb 22, 2012

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Publisher
University of Illinois Press
Copyright
Copyright © University of Illinois Press
ISSN
1945-2349
Publisher site
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Abstract

LINCOLN M. BALLARD Nearly every account of the Russian composer Alexander Scriabin (1872­ 1915) mentions the love-hate relationship critics and audiences have had with his music. Scriabin's supreme confidence in his creative powers convinced him that his music could affect the world at large, and while this megalomaniacal streak attracted devotees, it challenged writers to provide impartial assessments of his output. Several commentators have insisted that Scriabin's historical value can only be measured "in an atmosphere free of the incense that clouded the minds of his earliest admirers," as Hugh Macdonald put it in 1978.1 Scriabin's reception offers a powerful lens through which to examine the individuals and organizations that promoted Russian music in the United States as well as taste-making critics' views on modern style, but scholars have devoted little attention to his reception. Olga Tompakova and Gareth Thomas each catalogued the fame his music enjoyed in England in the 1910s­1920s, but his presence in the United States remains poorly documented.2 Scriabin's works may have been performed more often in his homeland and in England than in the United States before 1930, but they enjoyed a concurrent vogue in America, especially due to his well-publicized interests in

Journal

American MusicUniversity of Illinois Press

Published: Feb 22, 2012

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