Music of Russia

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Music of Russia denotes

Russian rock, Russian hip hop and Russian pop
.

History

Early history

Victor Vasnetsov
)

Written documents exist that describe the musical culture of the

buben. The most popular form of music, however was singing. Bylinas (epic ballads) about folk heroes such as Sadko, Ilya Muromets
, and others were often sung, sometimes to instrumental accompaniment. The texts of some of these epics have been recorded.

In the time the

in the 16th century.

Secular music included the use of musical instruments such as

Malorossia (modern Ukraine), but despite these restrictions, some of their traditions survived to the present day.[3][4][5]

18th and 19th century: Russian classical music

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, a famous Classical Russian composer
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, a prominent Russian composer of the 19th century (portrait by Valentin Serov)

Russia was a late starter in developing a native tradition of

Catherine also helped spread interest in Western music among the aristocracy.[9] This craze became so pervasive that many were not even aware that Russian composers existed.[10]

The focus on European music meant that Russian composers had to write in Western style if they wanted their compositions to be performed. Their success at this was variable due to a lack of familiarity with European rules of composition. Some composers were able to travel abroad for training, usually to Italy, and learned to compose vocal and instrumental works in the Italian Classical tradition popular in the day. These include ethnic

The first great Russian composer to exploit native Russian music traditions into the realm of secular music was

Ruslan and Lyudmila
. They were neither the first operas in the Russian language nor the first by a Russian, but they gained fame for relying on distinctively Russian tunes and themes and being in the vernacular.

Russian folk music became the primary source for the younger generation composers. A group that called itself "

The Mighty Five", headed by Balakirev (1837–1910) and including Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908), Mussorgsky (1839–81), Borodin (1833–87) and César Cui (1835–1918), proclaimed its purpose to compose and popularize Russian national traditions in classical music. Among the Mighty Five's most notable compositions were the operas The Snow Maiden (Snegurochka), Sadko, Boris Godunov, Prince Igor, Khovanshchina, and symphonic suite Scheherazade. Many of the works by Glinka and the Mighty Five were based on Russian history, folk tales and literature, and are regarded as masterpieces of romantic nationalism
in music.

This period also saw the foundation of the

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–93), best known for ballets like Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker. He remains Russia's best-known composer outside Russia. Easily the most famous successor in his style is Sergei Rachmaninoff
(1873–1943), who studied at the Moscow Conservatory (where Tchaikovsky himself taught).

The late 19th and early 20th century saw the third wave of Russian classics:

Soviet music
.

In the late 19th to early 20th centuries, the so-called "

Fyodor Shalyapin. Singers usually composed music and wrote the lyrics, as did Alexander Vertinsky, Konstantin Sokolsky, and Pyotr Leshchenko
.

20th century: Soviet music

The Orchestra of Valentin Sporius, 1937, Kuybyshev

After the

electronic instruments
.

However, in the 1930s, under the regime of

Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District was denounced in Pravda newspaper as "formalism
" and soon removed from theatres for years).

The musical patriarchs of the era were

Union of Soviet Composers
was established in 1932 and became the major regulatory body for Soviet music.

Leonid Uteosov and film score composer Isaak Dunayevsky helped its popularity, especially with the popular comedy movie Jolly Fellows, which featured a jazz soundtrack. Eddie Rosner, Oleg Lundstrem
and others contributed to Soviet jazz music.

Alla Pugachova, Soviet 1970-80s pop star

Film soundtracks produced a significant part of popular Soviet/Russian songs of the time, as well as of orchestral and experimental music. The 1930s saw Prokofiev's scores for

, among others.

Among the notable people of Soviet

Eduard Artemiev, best known for his scores for Andrei Tarkovsky's films Solaris, Mirror, and Stalker
.

The 1960s and 1970s saw the beginning of modern Russian pop and rock music. It started with the wave of

music chart
.

Kino, an iconic Soviet post-punk band

Music publishing and promotion in the Soviet Union was a state monopoly. To earn money and fame from their talent, Soviet musicians had to assign to the state-owned label Melodiya. This meant accepting certain boundaries of experimentation, that is, the family-friendly performance and politically neutral lyrics favoured by censors. Meanwhile, with the arrival of new sound recording technologies, it became possible for common fans to record and exchange their music via magnetic tape recorders. This helped underground music subculture (such as bard and rock music) to flourish despite being ignored by the state-owned media.[14]

"

folk revival movement of the 60s, with their simple single-guitar arrangements and poetical lyrics. Initially ignored by the state media, bards like Vladimir Vysotsky, Bulat Okudzhava, Alexander Galich gained so much popularity that they finished being distributed by the state owned Melodiya record company. The largest festival of bard music is Grushinsky festival
, held annually since 1968.

Rock music came to the Soviet Union in the late 1960s with

Aria, DDT, Nautilus Pompilius, and Grazhdanskaya Oborona. New wave and post-punk were the trend in 80s Russian rock.[14]
Soviet and Russian conservatories have turned out generations of world-renowned soloists. Among the best known are violinists David Oistrakh and Gidon Kremer,[16][17] cellist Mstislav Rostropovich,[18] pianists Vladimir Horowitz,[19] Sviatoslav Richter,[20] and Emil Gilels,[21] and vocalist Galina Vishnevskaya.[22]

21st century: modern Russian music

Aria, Russia's most prominent heavy metal band
t.A.T.u., a Russian pop group that broke through to Western charts
Oxxxymiron, a popular Russian 2010s rapper

Russian pop music is well developed, and enjoys mainstream success via pop music media such as

Eurovision 2008 winner Dima Bilan, as well as Valery Meladze, Grigory Leps, VIA Gra, Nyusha, Vintage, Philipp Kirkorov, Vitas and Alsou. Music producers like Igor Krutoy, Maxim Fadeev, Ivan Shapovalov,[23] Igor Matvienko, and Konstantin Meladze control a major share of Russia's pop music market, in some ways continuing the Soviet style of artist management. On the other side, some independent acts such as Neoclubber use new-era promo tools[24] to avoid these old-fashioned Soviet ways of reaching their fans.[25] Russian girl trio Serebro are one of the most popular Russian acts to dominate charts outside of the European market. The group's most known single "Mama Lover" placed in the US Billboard Charts, becoming the first Russian act to chart since t.A.T.u.'s single " All About Us".[26]

Russian production companies, such as Hollywood World,[27] have collaborated with western music stars, creating a new, more globalized space for music.

The rock music scene has gradually evolved from the united movement into several different subgenres similar to those found in the West. There are youth

Catharsis, Epidemia, Shadow Host, Mechanical Poet), and pagan metal (Arkona, Butterfly Temple, Temnozor).[28]

Rock music media has become prevalent in modern Russia.[

A-One TV channel, specializing in alternative music and hardcore. It has promoted bands like Amatory, Tracktor Bowling and Slot, and has awarded many of them with its Russian Alternative Music Prize.[citation needed] Radio Maximum
broadcasts both Russian and western modern pop and rock.

Other types of music include folk rock (

band, well known for its stance against racism, sexism and homophobia. Other bands like Siberian Meat Grinder shares an experimental style of music.

A specific, exclusively Russian kind of music has emerged, which mixes criminal songs, bard and romance music. It is labelled "Russian chanson" (a neologism popularized by its main promoter, Radio Chanson). Its main artists include Mikhail Krug, Mikhail Shufutinsky, and Alexander Rosenbaum. With lyrics about daily life and society, and frequent romanticisation of the criminal underworld, chanson is especially popular among adult males of the lower social class.[31][32]

Electronic music in modern Russia is underdeveloped in comparison to other genres.[

Darkwave and Industrial scene, closely related to Goth subculture, has become prevalent, with such artists as Dvar, Otto Dix, Stillife, Theodor Bastard, Roman Rain, Shmeli and Biopsyhoz
. Hardbass, an offshoot of UK Hard House originating in Russia in the late 1990s, has spread internationally via the internet, with acts such as Hard Bass School, & XS Project amassing significant followings.

The profile of classical or concert hall music has to a considerable degree been eclipsed by on one hand the rise of commercial popular music in Russia, and on the other its own lack of promotion since the collapse of the USSR.[36] Yet a number of composers born in the 1950s and later have made some impact, notably Leonid Desyatnikov, who became the first composer in decades to have a new opera commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre (The Children of Rosenthal, 2005), and whose music has been championed by Gidon Kremer and Roman Mints. Meanwhile, Gubaidulina, amongst several former-Soviet composers of her generation, continues to maintain a high profile outside Russia composing several prestigious and well-received works including "In tempus praesens" (2007) for the violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.

The early 2000s saw a boom of musicals in Russia.

Roméo et Juliette, and We Will Rock You were constantly performed in Moscow theatres at the time. The popularity of musicals was hampered by the 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis
and was only revived at the end of the decade.

2010s saw the rise of popularity of

rap battles on the internet by artists like Oxxxymiron and Gnoyny
, among others.

Ethnic roots music

Russia today is a multi-ethnic state with over 100 ethnicities. Some of these ethnic groups has their own indigenous folk, sacred and in some cases art music, which can loosely be categorized together under the guise of ethnic roots music, or folk music. This category can further be broken down into folkloric (modern adaptations of folk material, and authentic presentations of ethnic music).

Adygea

In recent years,

Adygea
has seen the formation of a number of new musical institutions. These include two orchestras, one of which (Russkaya Udal) uses folk instruments, and a chamber music theater.

Adygea's

national anthem
was written by Iskhak Shumafovich Mashbash with music by Umar Khatsitsovich Tkhabisimov.

Altay

Altay
is a Central Asian region, known for traditional epics and a number of folk instruments.

Bashkir

The first major study of

Bashkir music appeared in 1897, when ethnographer Rybakov S.G. wrote Music and Songs of the Ural's Muslims and Studies of Their Way of Life. Later, Lebedinskiy L.N. collected numerous folk songs in Bashkortostan beginning in 1930. The 1968 foundation of the Ufa State Institute of Arts
sponsored research in the field.

The

kurai
is the most important instrument in the Bashkir ensemble.

Buryatia

The Buryats of the far east is known for distinctive folk music which uses the two-stringed horsehead fiddle, or morin khuur. The style has no polyphony and has little melodic innovation. Narrative structures are very common, many of them long epics which claim to be the last song of a famous hero, such as in the "Last Song of Rinchin Dorzhin". Modern Buryat musicians include the band Uragsha, which uniquely combines Siberian and Russian language lyrics with rock and Buryat folk songs, and Namgar, who is firmly rooted in the folk tradition but also explores connections to other musical cultures.

Chechnya

Alongside the Chechen rebellion of the 1990s came a resurgence in Chechen national identity, of which music is a major part. People like Said Khachukayev became prominent promoting Chechen music.

The Chechen

Death or Freedom
", an ancient song of uncertain origin.

In 2024, the government of Chechnya required music to be within the range of 80–116 BPM in order to preserve Chechen culture;[37] this has been described by international news as a "ban on music that is too fast or too slow".[38]

Dagestan

Dagestan's most famous composer may be Gotfrid Hasanov, who is said to be the first professional composer from Dagestan. He wrote the first Dagestani opera, Khochbar
, in 1945 and recorded a great deal of folk music from all the peoples of Dagestan.

Karelia

Karelians are Finnish, and so much of their music is the same as Finnish music. The Kalevala is a very important part of traditional music; it is a recitation of Finnish legends, and is considered an integral part of the Finnish folk identity.

The Karelian Folk Music Ensemble is a prominent folk group.

Ossetia

Ossetians are people of the Caucasian Region, and thus Ossetian music and dance[39] have similar themes to the music of Chechnya and the music of Dagestan.

Russia

Carnival in Petrograd in about 1919

Archeology and direct evidence show a variety of

lozhki, rubel, treschyotka, vertushka and zvonchalka.[citation needed
]

Chastushkas are a kind of Russian folk song with a long history. They are typically humorous or satiric.

During the 19th century,

Count Uvarov led a campaign of national revival which initiated the first professional orchestra with traditional instruments, beginning with Vasily Andreyev, who used the balalaika in an orchestra late in the century.[citation needed] Just after the dawn of the 20th century, Mitrofan Pyatnitsky founded the Pyatnitsky Choir
, which used rural peasant singers and traditional sounds.

Sakha

jaw harp
.

Tatarstan

Tatar folk music has rhythmic peculiarities and pentatonic intonation in common with nations of the

quray (flute) and talianka (accordion
).

Tuva

ezengileer (like a horse's trotting). Of particular international fame are the group Huun-Huur-Tu and master throat singer Kongar-ool Ondar
.

Ukrainian music in Russia

Although Ukraine is an independent country since 1991, Ukrainians constitute the second-largest ethnic minority in Russia. The bandura is the most important and distinctive instrument of the Ukrainian folk tradition, and was used by court musicians in the various Tsarist courts. The kobzars, a kind of wandering performers who composed dumy, or folk epics.

Hardbass in Russia

Hardbass or hard bass (Russian: хардбасс, tr. hardbass, IPA: [xɐrdˈbas]) is a subgenre of electronic music which originated from Russia during the late 1990s, drawing inspiration from UK hard house, bouncy techno and hardstyle. Hardbass is characterized by its fast tempo (usually 150–175 BPM), donks, distinctive basslines (commonly known as "hard bounce"), distorted sounds, heavy kicks and occasional rapping. Hardbass has become a central stereotype of the gopnik subculture. In several European countries, so-called "hardbass scenes" have sprung up,[1] which are events related to the genre that involve multiple people dancing in public while masked, sometimes with moshing involved.

From 2015 onward, hardbass has also appeared as an Internet meme, depicting Slavic and Russian subcultures with the premiere of the video "Cheeki Breeki Hardbass Anthem", based on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series of games from GSC game world.[2]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ РУССКИЕ МУЗЫКАЛЬНЫЕ ИНСТРУМЕНТЫ [Russian Musical Instruments]. soros.novgorod.ru (in Russian).
  2. ^ "Russian Music before Glinka". biu.ac.il.
  3. ^ "Интерфакты. Часть 6. Балалайка" [Interfacts. Part 6. Balalaika] (in Russian). Tomsk Regional State Philarmony. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Почему Алексей Михайлович приказал сжечь все балалайки" [Why did Alexei Mikhailovich order to burn all the balalaikas] (in Russian). Cyrillitsa.ru. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2019. Everyone knows about the witch hunt of Inquisition times, but only few people aware that in 17th century Russia there were burning balalaikas for the same purpose
  5. ^ Holden, xxi; Maes, 14.
  6. ^ Frolova-Walker, New Grove (2001), 21:925
  7. ^ Maes, 14.
  8. ^ Bergamini, 175; Kovnatskaya, New Grove (2001), 22:116; Maes, 14.
  9. ^ Campbell, New Grove (2001), 10:3, Maes, 30.
  10. ^ Maes, 16.
  11. ^
  12. ^ a b "History of Rock Music in Russia :: Music :: Culture & Arts :: Russia-InfoCentre". russia-ic.com.
  13. ^ Walter Gerald Moss. A History Of Russia: Since 1855, Volume 2. Anthem Series on Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies. Anthem Press, 2004. 643 pages.
  14. JSTOR 960424
    .
  15. ^ Higgins, Charlotte (22 November 2000). "Perfect isn't good enough". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  16. JSTOR 25172838
    .
  17. .
  18. .
  19. .
  20. .
  21. ^ Berger, Arion (3 October 2002). "Album Reviews T.A.T.U.: 200 KM/H In The Wrong Lane". Rolling Stone. No. 906. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008.
  22. ^ "Uncharted Territory: Pomplamoose Enters Top 10, Friendly Fires Debut". Billboard.
  23. ^ "Billboard – Music Charts, Music News, Artist Photo Gallery & Free Video". Billboard.
  24. ^ "Serebro". billboard.com.
  25. ^ "[.m] masterhost – профессиональный хостинг сайта(none)". www.hollywoodworld.org. Archived from the original on 29 March 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  26. ^ Diverse Genres of Modern Music in Russia Archived 7 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine – Russia-Channel.com
  27. ^ The Moscow News – Chartova Dyuzhina[permanent dead link]
  28. ^ "A Russian Woodstock: Rock and Roll and Revolution?; Not for This Generation".[dead link]
  29. ^ Modern Russian History in the Mirror of Criminal Song Archived 12 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine – An academic article
  30. ^ Notes From a Russian Musical Underground – A New York Times article about modern Russian Chanson
  31. ^ "44100hz ~ electronic music in Russia – Статья – Российская электронная музыка – общая ситуация". 44100.com.
  32. ^ "Russmus: ППК/PPK". russmus.net.
  33. ^ "DJ Groove". Far from Moscow.
  34. ^ See Richard Taruskin "Where is Russia's New Music?", reprinted in On Russian Music. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009: p. 381
  35. ^ "В Чечне установили требования к темпу музыкальных произведений". TACC (in Russian). Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  36. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  37. YouTube

Bibliography

Further reading