Taruskin's Triumph

Compared to Marina Frolova-Walker (see my previous post), Richard Taruskin is on the ball. Despite his penchant for extremely long sentences and words that only he seems to know the meaning of, Taruskin sets an example for raising issues of anti-semitism in his musicology, analysis, and history.

In his book 'Defining Russia Musically', not only is there an index entry for 'anti-Semitism' - and 'anti-Semitism of,' for various composers - but chances to talk about it are grasped fully. No composer, critic, or musician who exhibited anti-semitic views is left unexposed, and rightly so: to pass over anti-semitism is to discount its validity as a form of racism. This means going after Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, Pyotr Tchaikovsky; even Mikhail Glinka, whose personality is seldom revealed in literature. A large section is also devoted to Igor Stravinsky's active support for fascism in Italy and the Third Reich; the extent and explicitness of his hatred for Jews shocked me.

What is also important in Taruskin's book, however - and something that is often missed - is the active inclusion of Jewish musicians, composers, and general contemporaries. Thus Stravinsky's anti-semitism is related to his relations with Maximilian Steinberg, Mikhail Gnessin, Darius Milhaud, Otto Klemperer, Bruno Walter etc., substantiating his designation as a fascist and also acknowledging those who suffered at his hand.

Overall, though, the most pertinent point that Taruskin makes - and possibly one that comes from the heart - is that though cultural practices and traditions may explain a person's anti-semitism, it can never excuse it: Russian composers' tendency to hate Jews meant that each of those individual composers was a racist.

Bibliography:

Taruskin, R. (2000). Defining Russia musically : Historical and hermeneutical essays. Princeton, New Jersey ; Oxford.

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