Discussions in Soviet Musicology: The “Symphonic Genre” in the Epoch of Excessive Words
Abstract
The article touches upon one of the aspects connected with comprehension of the phenomenon
of the “Soviet symphonic genre” – its interaction with the verbal text existing during the entire
course of Soviet history. It is noted that the Soviet period has left us a huge amount of documents
– hundreds and thousands of pages of stenographic recordings of all sorts of discussions, which
has made it possible to arrive at the conclusion concerning the extreme, emergency role of the
musicological word in the formation of Soviet musical culture. At the center of attention there are
discussions of symphonic music – a sphere which seems to be as remote from that of literature as one
can fathom. However, in this sphere as well, certain priorities have become visible, characteristic
for the various periods of the Soviet musical historical development. Among them it is possible
to indicate the typology of the Soviet symphonic genre, as well as special analytical strategies
directed at objective description of musical processes and their verbal interpretation. Along with
that, the special signification of the emotional impact of music is characterized: being verbally
fixated, it has lent additional credence to the non-programmatic symphonic compositions and has
frequently made provision for a favorable reception on stage.
Keywords: musicological discussions, symphonic genre, programmatic qualities, folk style of
music, Soviet musicology, musical archives.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33779/2587-6341.2021.2.193-204
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