Аннотация: A brief review of the book "Mussorgsky" (the author of the book - Sergei Fedyakin).
A brief review of the book "Mussorgsky" (the author of the book - Sergei Fedyakin).
In the book by Sergei Fedyakin "Mussorgsky" we see two Mussorgsky.
The First Mussorgsky is a historical figure of a civilizational scale.
'Having passed away at the age of 42, he forced - posthumously - to work on his works a huge mass of musicians, giving rise to a whole community, which was tied together only by his personality and his creativ results. Mussorgsky's energy in different years was absorbed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Dmitri Shostakovich, Leoš Janáček ... And these are just the most famous names. And if you take a little wider, where his power was not so directly manifested, but still noticeably "hooked", names will inevitably appear: Alexander Scriabin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Igor Stravinsky, Nikolai Myaskovsky, Alexander Mosolov, Nikolai Roslavets, Georgy Sviridov, Valery Gavrilin ...
It is no coincidence that Rimsky-Korsakov, while remaining fully confident that he had 'improved' the works of his comrade, nevertheless notes that a return to the original is a possible perspective, the matter of future times. Mussorgsky transformed the music of the 20th century. Himself - he went into the legend. " [unofficial translation]
'Second Mussorgsky' is a person without a stable social and financial position, a person, in fact, whom to no one needs.
How laconic are Mussorgsky's contemporaries, how difficult it is for them to squeeze out a word of approval addressed to Mussorgsky and to his creative results:
'A fine cold rain was drizzling. When the coffin was lowered into the crypt, snow fell in large flakes. Melnikov read the poems sent by the composer Grigory Yanshin - Yanshin was absent due to illness. After that they waited for speeches. They stood in silence for a long time. Even Stasov, lover to talk, was silent. Korsakov told "Bach" [Stasov] in a loud voice that he [Rimsky-Korsakov] would revise the manuscripts of the deceased and prepare everything that was possible, starting with Khovanshchina, for publication. Many felt [themselves] relieved. The public began to disperse. " [unofficial translation]
Modest Mussorgsky in 1874 attends the posthumous exhibition of architectural projects and drawings by Viktor Hartmann and creates a suite for piano "Pictures at an Exhibition".
"The diversity of the world that the late architect was creating was especially striking when the visitor began to inspect the works created in Europe ... Garden in Tuileries, Montmartre, roof with a smoking chimney, covered with snow ..." [unofficial translation]
Mussorgsky gets acquainted with Western Europe through drawings by Viktor Hartmann.
Hartmann's name is probably known to specialists today. But Hartmann is not known to the general public. He is an architect, artist. 'Russia - Europe - Russia, or: the birth of an artist - departure and wanderings - return. The departure, perhaps, would not have taken place. But Hartmann, he drew attention to himself with his works, he received a special pension from the Academy of Arts." [unofficial translation]
Abroad Viktor Hartmann lived from 1864 to 1868. Quite a long business trip.
How to say out it politically correctly? Talent is not the main thing. The main thing is to be noticed (in the good sense of the word) and to gain a boon, to acquire a benevolence ... Then life flows happily ... Then you can see Europe, too ...
Well, if Modest Mussorgsky did not win the favor, then he had to get acquainted with Europe at the exhibition of Hartmann's works and to live in a role of an incomprehensible (suspicious) person - with a heap of a wide variety of problems.
Modest Mussorgsky is a gentle and cultured person. They do not recognize his creativity results and his level - he silently endures, perhaps he suffers ...
Mussorgsky gained a possibility to become a touring pianist and he tried his hand at the field of musical pedagogy ...
But there are variables in the talent formula.
Simultaneously with Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Kibalchich, a potential Russian (Alfred Bernhard) Nobel (inventor, millionaire, entrepreneur) also lives.
What are the chances that Kibalchich, despite all his talents, will be appreciated and be noticed (in the good sense of the word) and will be object of benevolence? So that Kibalchich could see Europe, and communicate with famous European scientists, and enjoy fame and financial well-being? New values for the variables have been set in the talent formula [in the formula of talentness] ...
And Mussorgsky, and Emperor Alexander II, and Nikolai Kibalchich complete their life paths in 1881 ...
Naturally, the "second Mussorgsky" is completely inconvenient for a biographer. He sends the plot and thought in a completely unnecessary direction.
Mussorgsky's biographer runs the risk of becoming like Mussorgsky himself - in the sense that he, the biographer, will endlessly redo his work, and will remain - in the end - with many drafts and with a variety of problems.
And the biographer needs to live a long and relatively prosperous life, to wait for the publication of the book he wrote about Modest Mussorgsky.
Accordingly, on the pages of the book about Mussorgsky, we find abundant quotations from various kinds of letters and other texts, the author's pensive reflections on these quotations, comments on them.
The facts are presented with a care. Thought, it seems, does not cling to anything; unnecessary (daring) conclusions do not appear....
It would be nice if the publishing house's editor read-read (let without admiration), sighed, threw a couple of small, insignificant remarks (requirements to make some changes in the manuscript) to the author, tapped-pulled-touched-disturbed the manuscript once and twice and three, and then, when all the deadlines are going to come out, he (editor) would approve the publication ... Moreover, (perhaps) there are two or three positive reviews, prepared by not interesting to anybody, but respected members of the writers' association ...
And, at last, the book, the biography of Mussorgsky, has been published.
Not the worst book. Those who like and able to read between the lines will probably read it with interest.
It seems that the author wrote this book as scrupulously, faithfully, diligently, as the situation allowed him to. It seems that the author himself knows and understands much more than what is stated in this book.
Maybe someone will be able to decipher all this literary fabric, but not many will succeed to do it...
[MMСCCLXXXVII. Mussorgsky and Hitchhiking Vietnam. Review of the half part of the book by Karin Muller. - September 25, 2021.
MMСCCXСV. Modest Mussorgsky: Where am I!? Between the partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1795) and Gleb Krzhizhanovsky, Sergei Korolev. Reflections after reading half of the book "Mussorgsky" (the author of the book - Sergei Fedyakin). - September 28, 2021.].
October 3, 2021 10:42
Translation from Russian into English: October 3, 2021 21:27
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Краткая рецензия на книгу Сергея Федякина 'Мусоргский''.
{ 2433. Краткая рецензия на книгу Сергея Федякина 'Мусоргский'.
MMСCCСIII. A brief review of the book "Mussorgsky" (the author of the book - Sergei Fedyakin). (English). }