© all rights reserved 2011
ARTS AND CRAFTS
Here there are two separate and distinct periods: 
before and after 1800. Before 1800, creativity related
mostly to religion, in the form of icons, and to peasant
music, which was not written down and was merely
passed down orally through generations. After 1800
began an accelerated Renaissance-like absorption and
development of all the major disciplines, which was the
result of: 1) Catherine the Great’s links to France
between 1762 and 1796 and 2) The large number of
French aristocrats who fled their Revolution in 1789 and
moved to Russia. All the while, there was still a distinct
pagan/peasant influence which kept Russian artists
mostly separated from Europe in the eyes of the critics
well into the late 1800’s.
This carried on until 1918, when Russian creativity
broke into 2 distinct camps:
1) Conscripted Socialist Realism, practiced by those
who stayed in The USSR and
2) the independent work of those few, comparatively,
who left. The latter include the composer Stravinsky
(he had actually left a bit earlier, in 1912), the artist
Kandinsky, and the novelist Nabokov. Very few who left
ever returned, such as Prokopiev. Many artists in the
USSR tried to maintain a outwardly-hidden sense of
creativity outside Socialist Realism, like the poet
Akhmatova, the writers Bulgakov and Pasternak, and
the composers Shastakovich and Schnitki. Very few
have used their earlier, USSR-era art training to
achieve success outside of Russia, like the artist and
sculptor Shemiyakin. Russian Ballet, established well
over 100 years ago, remains at the top in classical
style, specializing in favorites like Swan Lake and The
Nutcracker Suite. Special notice is due the greatest
Russian bard, Vladimir Vysotsky. He acted and sang
during the 1960’s and 70’s, and he best typifies the real
beauty and struggles of life in the Soviet Union, cast in
a greater perspective. No one better understood the
Russian soul. Under the protection of Brezhnev, who
loved his singing, Vysotsky spent a great deal of time
going back and forth between France and the U.S.A.,
before and after 1800. Before 1800, creativity related
mostly to religion, in the form of icons, and to peasant
music, which was not written down and was merely
passed down orally through generations. After 1800
began an accelerated Renaissance-like absorption and
development of all the major disciplines, which was the
result of: 1) Catherine the Great’s links to France
between 1762 and 1796 and 2) The large number of
French aristocrats who fled their Revolution in 1789 and
moved to Russia. All the while, there was still a distinct
pagan/peasant influence which kept Russian artists
mostly separated from Europe in the eyes of the critics
well into the late 1800’s.
This carried on until 1918, when Russian creativity
broke into 2 distinct camps:
1) Conscripted Socialist Realism, practiced by those
who stayed in The USSR and
2) the independent work of those few, comparatively,
who left. The latter include the composer Stravinsky
(he had actually left a bit earlier, in 1912), the artist
Kandinsky, and the novelist Nabokov. Very few who left
ever returned, such as Prokopiev. Many artists in the
USSR tried to maintain a outwardly-hidden sense of
creativity outside Socialist Realism, like the poet
Akhmatova, the writers Bulgakov and Pasternak, and
the composers Shastakovich and Schnitki. Very few
have used their earlier, USSR-era art training to
achieve success outside of Russia, like the artist and
sculptor Shemiyakin. Russian Ballet, established well
over 100 years ago, remains at the top in classical
style, specializing in favorites like Swan Lake and The
Nutcracker Suite. Special notice is due the greatest
Russian bard, Vladimir Vysotsky. He acted and sang
during the 1960’s and 70’s, and he best typifies the real
beauty and struggles of life in the Soviet Union, cast in
a greater perspective. No one better understood the
Russian soul. Under the protection of Brezhnev, who
loved his singing, Vysotsky spent a great deal of time
going back and forth between France and the U.S.A.,
marvelling at the contrasts. His inability to reconcile East and West
ultimately made his alcoholism worse and he died way too young at 44.
Since 1991, many Russians have toured the international stage
individually with great success but one group deserves special
commendation: The Russian National Symphony Orchestra. It was
formed by the pianist/composer Michael Pletnev and is a compilation
of the best players from all of the symphony orchestras extant in the
USSR up to 1991. This orchestra interprets Russian composers like no
other. To hear a good example of truly Russian classical music, try
Rachmaninoff’s 2nd symphony, ONLY as performed by The Russian
National Symphony Orchestra---universally panned by Western music
critics structurally but is a clear example of soaring and emotive
Russian musical imagery. Generally, the arts and crafts have not fared
well since 1991 due to the loss of State subsidies and very little
philanthropy. Most creative types are poor, and the attitude towards
poverty in Russia is not a happy one. But the masses love the arts, are
avid readers and especially, they love poetry.
Finally, a story must be told. It may be true, it may not be true. It
can’t be proven conclusively but because it involves an intensely
personal and private man, a man considered to be one of the most
important in the last 100 years, Stalin, it has to be told. It is a story told
through art, and could really be a window into the great tyrant’s soul.
The story comes in reference to the life of the composer Shastakovich,
and it goes that one evening in 1948, on the radio, Stalin heard
Mozart’s #23 piano concerto played live by an orchestra. He liked it so
much that he ordered the orchestra to make a recording for him that
evening. The story continues that in the room where Stalin died in
March of 1953, this record was on his record player. So, maybe,
understanding this #23 helps to understand the man---and indeed, it
could. It may be interpreted as the story of Stalin’s entire life told
through music. Stalin is the pianist, of course. In the first part, there is
practically no piano. This part represents Stalin’s life through 1914 or
so. He was meaningless. The second part is a slow, maudlin, listless,
and murky interaction between the piano and the orchestra,
representing Stalin’s rise to power through 1929. In the last part, the
piano is dominating and the orchestra follows. This represents the final
chapter of Stalin’s life from 1929 on, when he was in absolute control.
Art and creativity are integral to Russian culture, and the Russian
people are extremely feeling, creative, and talented.
ultimately made his alcoholism worse and he died way too young at 44.
Since 1991, many Russians have toured the international stage
individually with great success but one group deserves special
commendation: The Russian National Symphony Orchestra. It was
formed by the pianist/composer Michael Pletnev and is a compilation
of the best players from all of the symphony orchestras extant in the
USSR up to 1991. This orchestra interprets Russian composers like no
other. To hear a good example of truly Russian classical music, try
Rachmaninoff’s 2nd symphony, ONLY as performed by The Russian
National Symphony Orchestra---universally panned by Western music
critics structurally but is a clear example of soaring and emotive
Russian musical imagery. Generally, the arts and crafts have not fared
well since 1991 due to the loss of State subsidies and very little
philanthropy. Most creative types are poor, and the attitude towards
poverty in Russia is not a happy one. But the masses love the arts, are
avid readers and especially, they love poetry.
Finally, a story must be told. It may be true, it may not be true. It
can’t be proven conclusively but because it involves an intensely
personal and private man, a man considered to be one of the most
important in the last 100 years, Stalin, it has to be told. It is a story told
through art, and could really be a window into the great tyrant’s soul.
The story comes in reference to the life of the composer Shastakovich,
and it goes that one evening in 1948, on the radio, Stalin heard
Mozart’s #23 piano concerto played live by an orchestra. He liked it so
much that he ordered the orchestra to make a recording for him that
evening. The story continues that in the room where Stalin died in
March of 1953, this record was on his record player. So, maybe,
understanding this #23 helps to understand the man---and indeed, it
could. It may be interpreted as the story of Stalin’s entire life told
through music. Stalin is the pianist, of course. In the first part, there is
practically no piano. This part represents Stalin’s life through 1914 or
so. He was meaningless. The second part is a slow, maudlin, listless,
and murky interaction between the piano and the orchestra,
representing Stalin’s rise to power through 1929. In the last part, the
piano is dominating and the orchestra follows. This represents the final
chapter of Stalin’s life from 1929 on, when he was in absolute control.
Art and creativity are integral to Russian culture, and the Russian
people are extremely feeling, creative, and talented.
