Event overview
The End of (Music) History: Asafiev, Lukács and Socialist Realism New Musicology and Socialist Realism - failed experiments or compatible ideas?
Dr Elphick is a Teaching Fellow in Music at Royal Holloway, University of London, and gives this presentation as part of the Music Research Series, supported by the Centre for Russian Music.
The body of work known as ‘Socialist-Realist’ music has been viewed with near-universal disdain since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. When it is mentioned, it is often presented as further evidence of the ‘failed experiment’ of twentieth-century socialism, and so strengthens the argument for the ‘End of History’. As the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 was pre-empted by the rise (and fall) of ‘New Musicology’ in the 1980s and 1990s, so the collapse of the Soviet regime was complemented by a rise in ‘form-based’ analysis in more recent Russian-speaking musicology. In a sense, both extremes on the sides of the former Cold War have lately been relaxing into a common analytical ground. One marked difference, however, is the reluctance on the part of former-Soviet scholars to engage with Socialist-Realist-era works, arguably tainted with the worst excesses of the Soviet ‘ideological’ method of analysis. Combining theoretical ideas from Soviet writers and drawing on examples from Russia and Poland, this talk provides a pragmatic approach arguing for the need to re-examine socialist realism in order to counter the end of (music) history.
Free event and all welcome. Join us for a glass of wine and stimulating discussion.
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Oct 2018 | 5:30pm - 7:00pm |
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