Networking the Russian diaspora : Russian musicians and musical activities in interwar Shanghai / Hon-Lun Helan Yang, Simo Mikkonen, John Winzenburg.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Yang, Hon-Lun, author.

Mikkonen, Simo, author.

Winzenburg, John, author.

Series:

Music and performing arts of Asia and the Pacific.

Music and performing arts of Asia and the Pacific

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Russians--China--Shanghai--History--20th century.

Russians.

Music--China--Shanghai--20th century--History and criticism.

Music.

Shanghai Municipal Orchestra.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (320 p.) : 28 b&w illustrations

Place of Publication:

Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press, [2020]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Networking the Russian Diaspora is a fascinating and timely study of interwar Shanghai. Aside from the vacated Orthodox Church in the former French Concession where most Russian émigrés resided, Shanghai today displays few signs of the bustling settlement of those years. Russian musicians established the first opera company in China, as well as choirs, bands, and ensembles to play for their own and other communities. Russian musicians were the core of Shanghai’s lauded Municipal Orchestra and taught at China’s first conservatory. Two Russian émigré composers in particular—Alexander Tcherepnin and Aaron Avshalomov—experimented with incorporating Chinese elements into their compositions as harbingers of intercultural music that has become a well-recognized trend in composition since the late twentieth century. The Russian musical scene in Shanghai was the embodiment of musical cosmopolitanism, anticipating the hybrid nature of twentieth-first century music arising from cultural contacts through migration, globalization, and technological advancement. As a pioneering study of the Russian community, Networking the Russian Diaspora especially examines its musical activities and influence in Shanghai. While the focus of the book is on music, it also gives insight into the social dynamics between Russians and other Europeans on the one hand, and with the Chinese on the other. The volume, coauthored by Chinese music specialists, makes a significant contribution to studies of diaspora, cultural identity, and migration by casting light on a little-studied area of Sino-Russian cultural relations and Russian influence in modern China. The discoveries stretch the boundaries of music studies by addressing the relational aspects of Western music: how it has articulated national and cultural identities but also served to connect people of different origins and cultural backgrounds.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION Networking the Musical Communities in Shanghai

CHAPTER 1. Between Limbo and a Haven: The Russian Émigré Community in Shanghai

CHAPTER 2. Networking the Diaspora: Musical Activities of the Russian Community

CHAPTER 3. An Imperfect Musical Haven: Russian Musicians and the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra

CHAPTER 4. Sounding Russian in a Metropolis: Russian Concerts and Soloists of the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra

CHAPTER 5. Foundations of New Chinese Music: Russian Pedagogues and Chinese Students

CHAPTER 6. From “Folk Cure” to Catharsis: Alexander Tcherepnin and New Chinese Piano Music

CHAPTER 7. Partnering with the Shanghai Arts Community: Aaron Avshalomov and Symphonic-Theatrical Experimentation

EPILOGUE

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-8248-8270-9

0-8248-8269-5

OCLC:

1198557087