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Chapter Six - New stylistic directions
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 November 2009
Summary
As the twentieth century advanced, new conceptions of music evolved from older ones, emerged from the rejection of them or appeared from a combination of both. Important figures include Skryabin, already mentioned as a Moscow composer, Stravinsky and Prokofiev.
(a) Yu. D. Engel': The music of Skryabin. Russian Bulletin, nos. 44 and 45, 24 and 25 February 1909. Engel', pp. 244–52, with cut restored
Everywhere that Skryabin's latest works are performed, whether in Russia or abroad, they provoke profound unease in the world of music. Some people go into raptures over them, others are indignant, while yet others are perplexed – but no one remains unmoved. This fact in itself is enough to show that these compositions are out of the ordinary. And, indeed, in Skryabin we are confronted by one of the most remarkable talents in the art of the present time. A talent which may be morbid, as befits our age, but which is also powerful, a single unity within itself, and original. And, what is more, original completely regardless of his works' link with philosophy. This link cannot actually have the same fundamental significance in music that it has in other arts. It is true that both philosophy and music are essentially generalizations, but they operate on different planes: one provides a generalized thought, while the other gives a generalized feeling. Music can thus embody only basic types of mood, and not logical deductions, even though those may lead to a certain mood, as if reaching a conclusion.
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- Russians on Russian Music, 1880–1917An Anthology, pp. 198 - 233Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003