JYVÄSKYLÄ STUDIES IN HUMANITIES 78 Simo Mikkonen State Composers and the Red Courtiers Music, Ideology, and Politics in the Soviet 1930s JYVÄSKYLÄN YLIOPISTO JYVÄSKYLÄ STUDIES IN HUMANITIES 78 Simo Mikkonen State Composers and the Red Courtiers Music, Ideology, and Politics in the Soviet 1930s Esitetään Jyväskylän yliopiston humanistisen tiedekunnan suostumuksella julkisesti tarkastettavaksi yliopiston Villa Ranan Blomstedtin salissa marraskuun 24. päivänä 2007 kello 12. Academic dissertation to be publicly discussed, by permission of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Jyväskylä, in the Building Villa Rana, Blomstedt Hall, on November 24, 2007 at 12 o'clock noon. UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ JYVÄSKYLÄ 2007 State Composers and the Red Courtiers Music, Ideology, and Politics in the Soviet 1930s JYVÄSKYLÄ STUDIES IN HUMANITIES 78 Simo Mikkonen State Composers and the Red Courtiers Music, Ideology, and Politics in the Soviet 1930s UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ JYVÄSKYLÄ 2007 Editors Seppo Zetterberg Department of History and Ethnology, University of Jyväskylä Irene Ylönen, Marja-Leena Tynkkynen Publishing Unit, University Library of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä Studies in Humanities Editorial Board Editor in Chief Heikki Hanka, Department of Art and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä Petri Karonen, Department of History and Ethnology, University of Jyväskylä Matti Rahkonen, Department of Languages, University of Jyväskylä Petri Toiviainen, Department of Music, University of Jyväskylä Minna-Riitta Luukka, Centre for Applied Language Studies, University of Jyväskylä Raimo Salokangas, Department of Communication, University of Jyväskylä URN:ISBN:9789513930158 ISBN 978-951-39-3015-8 (PDF) ISBN 978-951-39-2990-9 (nid.) ISSN 1459-4331 Copyright ©2007 , by University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä University Printing House, Jyväskylä 2007 ABSTRACT Mikkonen, Simo State composers and the red courtiers. Music, ideology, and politics in the Soviet 1930s. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä (Press), 2007, 336 p. (Jyväskylä Studies in Humanities, ISSN 1459-4331; 78) ISBN 978-951-39-3015-8 (PDF), 978-951-39-2990-9 (nid.) Diss. In the scholarship of Soviet history, music has too often been neglected as part of musicology rather than that of history. As a consequence, our understanding of the music as part of the Soviet society has been left rather one-sided. Soviet musical life has been studied largely by musicologists interested in specific works or composers rather than the context within which music was produced. This study discusses the relationship of art and politics in the Soviet Union during the early Stalinist phase, 1930s. It explores the ideas different groups had about the development of Soviet music, but also the development of the concept of Soviet music. In addition, the ties between composers and leading Communist Party officials are of crucial interest as it has been believed that the Party had a central role in the development of Soviet musical life in the 1930s. Although the Party first became interested and then highly involved in Soviet musical life, during early 1930s, composers and musicologists were able to organize their work without direct involvement of neither the Party nor the state organs. The Composers’ Union, the art union gathering all the composers and musicologists, was established in 1932, but unlike its sister organization, the Writers’ Union, it was not submitted to the Party. Rather, the Composers’ Union concentrated on furthering its members’ financial position. The issues of housing, salary and copyrights were engaged by composers while the Party mostly disregarded the intensification of the control of the Soviet musical life. Although the introduction of the Committee on Artistic Affairs, the state superstructure over the whole artistic life, intensified the political ties between music and the Party politics from 1936 onwards, composers managed still preserve their own interests. Despite the conflict between the superior Committee on Artistic Affairs and the Composers’ Union, composers were not overcome. Even more surprising is the fact that the years of terror (1936–1938) almost passed the Composers’ Union by without victims, whereas the Writers’ Union suffered heavily as almost all state and Party organs. During the 1930s Soviet music in general came to support aims of the Party and had to make concession. Simultaneously, however, composing as a profession became established and amount of full-time composers proliferated. Keywords: Soviet music, Stalinism, composers, USSR, art, ideology, politics Author’s Address Simo Mikkonen Linnakatu 2 as 5 FI-42100 Jämsä Finland [email protected] Supervisors Professor Seppo Zetterberg Department of History and Ethnology University of Jyväskylä, Finland Reviewers Doctor Pauline Fairclough Department of Music Bristol University, UK Professor Timo Vihavainen Renvall-Instituutti, VIE University of Helsinki, Finland Opponent Doctor Neil Edmunds School of History University of the West of England, Bristol, UK ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project came into existence in the spring of 2002. However, my work as a publicist in Helsinki forced me to put it aside until in 2003, when I began to work with this thesis full-time. Although I have had several bypaths (I have been constantly teaching and have at times kept breaks for even the length of half a year) this has been my bread-and-butter for the past four years. My major in my Master’s degree was musicology and without the warm welcome from my thesis supervisor, Seppo Zetterberg, this project would never have materialized in this form. After all, this thesis is a historical study, rather than a work of musicology. Professor Zetterberg has offered me his unending moral support as well as unhesitatingly helped me in the jungle of applications although for him, this has meant the writing of an endless stream of reports and statements. Another such source of professional as well as friendly support for me has been our long standing, and now retired lecturer Kalevi Ahonen. The Department of History and Ethnology has in general offered a good environment to work in. Especially Professor Petri Karonen, the Head of our department, has always found the time for my petitions and suggestions, no matter how small they have been. I owe a general thanks to all the colleagues in our department, but most of all to our “Researcher Kolkhoz”. Our Kolkhoz room of five, Janne Haikari, Markku Hokkanen (already PhD), Laura-Kristiina Moilanen, and Kirsi Ojala, has, despite thw wide range of our research topics, offered a great deal of support, not mentioning the daily ration of coffee. Over the course of this research I have had the opportunity to meet people in seminars, congresses and engage in conversations with several people to whom I am in gratitude. Above all, thanks to Meri Herrala, Docent Pekka Suutari and Elina Viljanen, who all share common research interests with me. I have been fortunate to get acquainted with Dr Neil Edmunds, who has commented my conference papers and warmly encouraged this work. Also, thanks to Dr Leonid Maximenkov, with whom I met during my first trip to Moscow. He kindly helped me with the archives and showed me to the best books shops of Moscow through the icy streets of the largest city in Europe. One of the foremost Finnish authorities on Russian history, Professor Timo Vihavainen, has commented on my thesis several times from its initial stages onwards, and helped me with numerous issues, no matter how big or small. Others include at least the reviewer of this thesis, Dr Pauline Fairclough, docent Arto Luukkanen, who read my licentiate thesis in 2004, and Professor Richard Stites. A great many thanks also to Elizabeth Eastcott and Katriina Lustig for their valuable help with the English text. Although one can hardly claim to conduct scholarly research for money, this thesis would have never been completed without the support of certain fund providers. Foremost of them all has been the Emil Aaltonen’s foundation. Others I would wish to thank are the Finnish Academy, the Finnish Graduate School of History, the Rector of the University of Jyväskylä and the Department of History and Ethnology. I also would like to thank the Fulbright Center for the upcoming grant for working in the Stanford University. Without this grant, meant for a post-doctoral scholar, I most likely would have not rushed to complete my thesis, but would have concentrated on other matters. Different institutions and their staff have also greatly contributed to the formation of this book, even if they are not aware of it. Especially the outstanding Slavic Library of the Helsinki University has offered a great amount of sources and saved me from additional trips to Moscow or Saint Petersburg. I am also indebted to my former place of work, the Jyväskylä University Library, where I learned a lot about the art of information retrieval; furthermore, its interlibrary unit has been of crucial help for this research. Thanks also to those archives of Moscow and Saint Petersburg that I have used. Special thanks to Vladimir Orlov, who was then working at the reading room of the Glinka Museum of Musical Culture; he offered me a lot of support, and eventually, became my friend. Otherwise, I kept my visits to Moscow at the minimum, worked around the clock and instead of socializing, was looking forward to getting back to my family (no offence, Moscow!). Another important source of support for me has been my parents, Seppo and Irma Mikkonen. In addition to commenting on my work and helping with the children during some intensive working days, my mother Irma Mikkonen set an important model by defending her doctoral thesis in 2005. She has also proof-read my numerous conference papers and articles. It must also be mentioned that (although she is not aware of it) a vital person in the process of this work has been our nanny, Tuula Peltonen. Without her taking care of our energetic children during the daytime, this work would not have been completed for years, honest! It is by no means exaggeration to say that more important than work for me has been my family.