Music and the politics of culture in revolutionary Russia, 1921-1930.

Abstract

This dissertation examines the role of music and musical culture in broader patterns of cultural transformation and revolutionary change. As a study of the ideological, political and institutional dimensions of early Soviet musical culture it evaluates the relationship of musical creativity to its historical and social environment. Analysis of the diverse aesthetic and political agendas of various factions within the musical community, and the extent to which these artistic and political platforms found support in the press, the party and state agencies, indicates that the evolution of state policy toward music reflected the unique needs as well as the aesthetic and political diversity of the musical community. Reforms affecting the training and socialization of musicians at the Moscow conservatory in this period reveal the ways in which different artistic and political perspectives influenced the development of musical research and education. The coincidence of the tenth anniversary of the revolution and the centennial of Beethoven's death in 1927 provide a revealing framework for examining the dynamics of musical life at the end of NEP. The conclusion addresses the political, social and aesthetic dimensions of the cultural revolution in the musical sphere, and the legacy for Soviet musical culture left by the defeat of the musical avant-garde.