The dekadas of national art (dekady natsional'nogo iskusstva) were national arts festivals instituted under Stalin in 1936, intended to display the art of the Soviet republics in Moscow. They became an important symbol of High Stalinism, seeking to foster the transnational exchange between European art music and traditional folk music of the Soviet republics, predominantly through the genre of opera. After a hiatus during the war, the dekadas were reinstated in 1951 and eventually cancelled in 1960. Despite the enormous role the dekadas and music of the Soviet republics played in Soviet culture and musical life more broadly, no large-scale study has yet emerged about them in any language. This study blends cultural and reception history (supported by substantial archival research carried out in Moscow) with musical commentary of dekada works. This is bound together into a broader examination of music and power and its relationship between centre and periphery. Chapters 1-5 cover the period 1936-1941, exploring how the dekadas emerged as a cultural symbol of high Stalinism in the pre-war era. Therein I pay special attention to the works of Russian composers who composed works for the Soviet republics: Yevgeny Brusilovsky, Vladimir Vlasov, Vladimir Fere, Aram Khachaturian, Markian Frolov, and Sergey Balasanyan. Chapter 6 examines the post-war dekada revival, and its troubled existence in the post-Stalin era. Ultimately, this thesis considers how transnational musical exchange balanced the tension between the imperialist ambitions of the Soviet project with its self-confessed anticolonial policies, specifically under late Stalinism and its aftermath.
Date of Award | 1 Aug 2023 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | - The University of Manchester
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Supervisor | David Fanning (Supervisor) & Anne Hyland (Supervisor) |
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- Soviet music
- nationalism
- imperialism
- cultural history
- Stalinism
The Dekadas of National Art: Nationality in Soviet Music, 1936âÂÂ1960
Wheldon-Robinson, P. (Author). 1 Aug 2023
Student thesis: Phd