Networking the Russian Diaspora : : Russian Musicians and Musical Activities in Interwar Shanghai / / Simo Mikkonen, John Winzenburg, Hon-Lun Helan Yang; ed. by Frederick Lau.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DG Plus PP Package 2020 Part 2
• VerfasserIn: Yang, Hon-Lun Helan,; Mikkonen, Simo,; Winzenburg, John,
• HerausgeberIn: Lau, Frederick,
• Place / Publishing House: Honolulu : : University of Hawaii Press, , [2020]; ©2020
• Year of Publication: 2020
• Language: English
• Series: Music and Performing Arts of Asia and the Pacific
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (286 p.) :; 5 b&w illustrations, 9 tables

Networking the Russian Diaspora is a fascinating and timely study of interwar Shanghai. Aside from the vacated Orthodox Church in the former French Concession where most Russian émigrés resided, Shanghai today displays few signs of the bustling settlement of those years. Russian musicians established the first opera company in China, as well as choirs, bands, and ensembles to play for their own and other communities. Russian musicians were the core of Shanghai’s lauded Municipal Orchestra and taught at China’s first conservatory. Two Russian émigré composers in particular—Alexander Tcherepnin and Aaron Avshalomov—experimented with incorporating Chinese elements into their compositions as harbingers of intercultural music that has become a well-recognized trend in composition since the late twentieth century. The Russian musical scene in Shanghai was the embodiment of musical cosmopolitanism, anticipating the hybrid nature of twentieth-first century music arising from cultural contacts through migration, globalization, and technological advancement. As a pioneering study of the Russian community, Networking the Russian Diaspora especially examines its musical activities and influence in Shanghai. While the focus of the book is on music, it also gives insight into the social dynamics between Russians and other Europeans on the one hand, and with the Chinese on the other. The volume, coauthored by Chinese music specialists, makes a significant contribution to studies of diaspora, cultural identity, and migration by casting light on a little-studied area of Sino-Russian cultural relations and Russian influence in modern China. The discoveries stretch the boundaries of music studies by addressing the relational aspects of Western music: how it has articulated national and cultural identities but also served to connect people of different origins and cultural backgrounds.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- List of Illustrations -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- INTRODUCTION Networking the Musical Communities in Shanghai -- CHAPTER 1. Between Limbo and a Haven: The Russian Émigré Community in Shanghai -- CHAPTER 2. Networking the Diaspora: Musical Activities of the Russian Community -- CHAPTER 3. An Imperfect Musical Haven: Russian Musicians and the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra -- CHAPTER 4. Sounding Russian in a Metropolis: Russian Concerts and Soloists of the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra -- CHAPTER 5. Foundations of New Chinese Music: Russian Pedagogues and Chinese Students -- CHAPTER 6. From “Folk Cure” to Catharsis: Alexander Tcherepnin and New Chinese Piano Music -- CHAPTER 7. Partnering with the Shanghai Arts Community: Aaron Avshalomov and Symphonic-Theatrical Experimentation -- EPILOGUE -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index