Exiles from Revolution Stravinsky the nationalist Welcome to the new look Soviet Music @ Lewes U3A This term we are going to explore how Soviet music reacted to Russian composers living abroad. Our five sessions will explore: One: Stravinsky the nationalist Two: Prokofiev and machine music Three: Stravinsky’s middle period Four: Rakhmaninov reclaimed Five: Stravinsky’s homecoming and his late period music Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) was already living in the west in 1917, and didn’t visit Russia again until 1962. Sergei Rakhmaninov (1873-1943) emigrated soon after the Bolsheviks took power, and never returned. Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) negotiated a leave of absence from revolutionary turmoil, returning in 1936. © 2020 Terry Metheringham
[email protected] +44 7528 835 422 Soviet Music: Exiles from Revolution Session 1: Stravinsky the nationalist 2 Introduction: Stravinsky the nationalist Today we will be focusing on Stravinsky’s 1911 ballet Petrushka. We will use it as a launch pad for exploring how Stravinsky’s brand of nationalism was received in the USSR from the early years of the revolution through to the 1960s. We will also hear music by Soviet composers echoing aspects of Petrushka: Prokofiev Russian Overture (1936) Popov Second Symphony “Motherland” (1944) Shchedrin Concerto for Orchestra No. 1 “Naughty Limericks” (1963) The total length of the music in this session is 95 minutes (with an option to reduce that to 70 minutes by only listening to one movement of Popov). © 2020 Terry Metheringham
[email protected] +44 7528 835 422 Soviet Music: Exiles from Revolution Session 1: Stravinsky the nationalist 3 Stravinsky background Igor Stravinsky was born into a musical family.