
Audiences Have Long Enjoyed Sergei Prokofiev's Musical Score For Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 Film Alexander Nevsky. The Historical Epic Cast A Thirteenth-century Russian Victory Over Invading Teutonic Knights As An Allegory Of Contemporary Soviet Strength In The Face Of Nazi Warmongering. Prokofiev's And Eisenstein's Work Proved An Enormous Success, Both As A Collaboration Of Two Of The Twentieth Century's Most Prominent Artists And As A Means To Bolster Patriotism And National Pride Among Soviet Audiences. Arranged As A Cantata For Concert Performance, Prokofiev's Music For Alexander Nevsky Music Proved Malleable, Its Meaning Reconfigured To Suit Different Circumstances And Times. Author Kevin Bartig Draws On Previously Unexamined Archival Materials To Follow Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky From Its Inception Through The Present Day. He Considers The Music's Genesis As Well As The Surprisingly Different Ways It Has Engaged Listeners Over The Past Eighty Years, From Its Beginnings As State Propaganda In The 1930s To Showpiece For High-fidelity Recording In The 1950s To Open-air Concert Favorite In The Post-soviet 1990s.
This book investigates how Sergei Prokofiev's score for the film Alexander Nevsky evolved from a piece of state-sanctioned propaganda into a versatile musical work that has been reinterpreted across eight decades. Kevin Bartig, a scholar of music history, utilizes previously unexamined archival materials to trace the creation and reception of the score. He argues that the music's malleability allowed it to serve shifting political and cultural agendas, from Soviet nationalism to the global concert stage.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars and music historians recognize this work as a significant contribution to the study of Soviet-era cultural production and the intersection of film and music. Readers frequently note the depth of the archival research, which provides a clear view of how political environments influence the longevity and meaning of artistic works.
Page Count:
128
Publication Date:
2017-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190269588
ISBN-13:
9780190269586
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