Sonic Overload

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Schmelz
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Information Overload ◽  
First Century ◽  
Cultural Life ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
History Of ◽  
Primary Materials ◽  
Film And Literature

Sonic Overload presents a musically centered cultural history of the late Soviet Union. It focuses on polystylism in music as a response to the information overload swamping listeners in the Soviet Union during its final decades. The central themes are collage, popular music, kitsch, and eschatology. The book traces the ways in which leading composers Alfred Schnittke and Valentin Silvestrov initially embraced and assimilated popular sources before ultimately rejecting them. Polystylism first responded to the utopian impulses of Soviet doctrine with utopian impulses to encompass all musical styles, from “high” to “low.” But these initial all-embracing aspirations were soon followed by retreats to alternate utopias founded on carefully selecting satisfactory borrowings, as familiar hierarchies of culture, taste, and class reasserted themselves. Looking at polystylism in the late USSR tells us about past and present, near and far, as it probes the musical roots of the overloaded, distracted present. Sonic Overload is intended for musicologists and Soviet, Russian, and Ukrainian specialists in history, the arts, film, and literature, but it also targets a wider scholarly audience, including readers interested in twentieth- and twenty-first century music; modernism and postmodernism; quotation and collage; the intersections of “high” and “low” cultures; and politics and the arts. Based on archival research, oral historical interviews, and other overlooked primary materials, as well as close listening and thorough examination of scores and recordings, Sonic Overload presents a multilayered and comprehensive portrait of late-Soviet polystylism and cultural life, and of the music of Silvestrov and Schnittke.

Spanish Folklore in the Southwest: The Pioneer Studies of Aurelio M. Espinosa

1978 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-237
Author(s):  
J. Manuel Espinosa
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Mexico City ◽  
Golden Age ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Spanish America ◽  
First Century ◽  
Old Spanish ◽  
Cultural Life ◽  
History Of

The centuries-old Spanish folk heritage of our Southwest, and its many faceted and enduring influence on the cultural life of the region, has been written about from various rims of observation. This article describes the pioneer studies of Aurelio M. Espinosa on Spanish folklore in the Southwest, with special emphasis on northern New Mexico. Although he made important contributions to the study of Spanish folklore of southern Colorado, Arizona, and California, and to that of Spain, Mexico, and other parts of Spanish America as well, he devoted most of his research and field work to the upper half of New Mexico which is the richest field of Spanish folklore in the Southwest.In viewing the cultural history of New Mexico, Espinosa reminded his readers that its first century as a Spanish colony, the 17th, was the second great century of Spain's Golden Age of arts and letters. With the vigor of Spain's sense of mission in those centuries, her Golden Age radiated to all parts of Spanish America via Mexico City, Lima, and the other principal colonial capitals. At the same time, from the bookshelf and the store of knowledge of the humble missionary, and the folklore of the Spanish settlers, passed down from generation to generation, the spirit of the Golden Age was reflected on the most remote settled frontiers.

scholarly journals Bolshevik Disease and Stalinist Terror: On the Historical Casuistry of Artificial Pneumothorax

2014 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor J. Polianski
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Pulmonary Tuberculosis ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Historical Study ◽  
Initial Development ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Artificial Pneumothorax ◽  
History Of

AbstractFrom its initial development by Carlo Forlanini at the end of the nineteenth century until the advent of antibiotics in the 1940s, artificial pneumothorax was one of the most widely used treatments for pulmonary tuberculosis. However, there were strongly held reservations about this therapy because of its risks and side effects. In the Soviet Union under Stalin, such uncertainties became instruments of political denunciation. The leading Soviet pulmonary physician Volf S. Kholtsman (1886–1941) was alleged to have used the so-called ‘aristocratic therapy’ of artificial pneumothorax to kill prominent Bolsheviks. Drawing on documents from Stalin’s personal Secretariat, this historical study of the pneumothorax scandal contributes to the cultural history of tuberculosis, showing how it was instrumentalised for political purposes.

СHILDREN'S LIBRARIES: THE CASE OF TOMSK, 1960–1970

2021 ◽  
pp. 272-282
Author(s):  
Alexsandra I. Ermolova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Cultural Life ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Tomsk Region ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The City

The paper discusses the activities of children's libraries in Tomsk in the 1960s and 70s. The main goal of this study is consider the history of children's libraries in the city and reveal the role of libraries in educational, cultural, political and ideological components of the everyday lives of young Tomsk residents. There are several reasons for addressing this problem. In the USSR, children were always not only in the care of the state, but also part of the political discourse about the happy childhood and the man of the future who was expected to live under communism. In this context, children's libraries were given a special status as places that successfully combined educational, cultural, political and ideological activities for children. The Tomsk Region has always been considered the intellectual center of Siberia. Therefore, it seems obvious that there has always been a special focus on the development of libraries in Tomsk. For example, the number of public libraries in the Tomsk Region increased from 135 in 1945 to 495 in 1964. This study addresses the history of children's libraries in the city. The thematic focus of their collections, and According to the regional archive, in the 1960– 70s, there were four active children's libraries in the city. The main ones were City Children's Library No. 1 located at 167 Lenin Avenue, and Marshak Children's Library No. 2 located at 17a Nikitina Street, The two other were smaller in size: Library No. 3 (81 Michurina) and City Children's Library No. 6 (9 Kolkhoznaya). The statistical reports of libraries demonstrate the increasing interest of young Tomsk residents in library activities: the number of readers, as well as number of visits grew from year to year. The libraries had quite diverse collections, which included not only books, but also periodicals. Some interesting observations can be made about the distribution of genres: socio-political publications are the second most popular genre, after fiction. Libraries were not only a place where children could receive and read books, but also hosted a variety of cultural, educational and leisure events, such as matinees, debates, exhibitions, and poetry evenings. There were Young Readers Clubs which arranged book discussions and meetings with interesting people. All this evidence suggests that children's libraries were an essential part of the city's social and cultural life. They acted as a kind of educational centers where young Tomsk residents could find answers to their questions. They were also places of leisure where children could spend their free time. Moreover, libraries inculcated some ideologically correct attitudes. Meetings, disputes, and quizzes held in libraries always addressed topics related to Lenin, communism, and activities of the Commuunist Party of the Soviet Union.

Spotlight on Film: All the World's a Stage

1987 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-11
Author(s):  
Arthur Knight
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Motion Picture ◽  
Motion Pictures ◽  
Entire Group ◽  
Nineteen Twenties ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Film Making

One phenomenon dominates the history of motion pictures: at one time or another, a single country has emerged as the most creative and vital source of film making on the international scene. It is almost as if a spotlight moved across the stages of the world, pausing now here, now there, to illuminate the work of an entire group of artists. This was perhaps understandable in the Soviet Union during the mid-Nineteen-Twenties, when a new government actively encouraged experimentation in all the arts, and particularly the art of the motion picture.

scholarly journals From Dreams to Disillusionment: A Socio-Cultural History of the American Space Program

Ad Americam ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 75-87
Author(s):  
Rafał Kuś ◽  
Patrick Vaughan
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
The United States ◽  
Space Program ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Times ◽  
Historical Developments ◽  
Insight Into

This article offers an insight into the history of the U.S. space program, including its cultural and political aspects. Starting from the vision of space as a new field of peaceful and exciting exploration, predominant in the first half of the 20th century, moving through the period of the intensive and eventually fruitful Cold War competition between the two belligerent ideological blocs led by the United States and the Soviet Union, and ending with the present-day cooling of the space enthusiasm, it focuses on the main actors and eventsof the century-long struggle for reaching the stars. The article is based in part on primary journalistic sources in order to capture the social atmosphere of the times it focuses on. It points out to the mid-1960s as the time when the noble aspirations and optimism of the early cosmic endeavors started to succumb to the pressure of reality, which caused the overwhelming stagnation of space initiatives, effectively ending the Golden Age of extraterrestrial exploration. This argument is backed by an analysis of historical developments leading to and following the American conquest of the Moon.

New Nation, New History: Promoting National History in Tajikistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-239
Author(s):  
James D. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
First Century ◽  
National History ◽  
Islamic Movements ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Nation

AbstractThis essay looks at the national history of the Tajiks of Central Asia that was created in the twentieth century and has continued to develop into the twenty-first century. It traces the notion of Tajik nationalism, which arose in the 1920s under the Soviet Union, largely in response to Uzbek nationalism. Soviet intellectuals and scholars thereafter attempted to construct a new history for the Tajiks. The most important effort in that area was Bobojon Ghafurov’s study Tadzhiki (Tajiks, 1972), which gave them primacy among the Central Asian peoples. The essay examines the policies of independent Tajikistan’s government, such as its focus on the Samanid dynasty and the replacement Soviet monuments and names with nationalist ones. Finally, it looks at the challenges that contemporary Islamic movements in the country pose to the earlier secular interpretations.

scholarly journals The dream that never dies: the ideals and realities of cosmopolitanism in science, 1870–1940

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 29-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Fox ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Information Overload ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
First Century ◽  
Great War ◽  
National Interests ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Post War ◽  
Totalitarian Regimes ◽  
The Great War

In the half-century before the Great War, collaborative international ventures in science became increasingly common. The trend, manifested in scientific congresses and attempts to establish agreement on physical units and systems of nomenclature, had important consequences. One was the fear of information overload. How were scientists to keep abreast of the growing volume of books, journals, and reports? How were they to do so in an era without a common language? Responses to these challenges helped to foster new departures in cataloguing, bibliography, and an interest in Esperanto and other constructed languages. By 1914, the responses had also become involved in wider movements that promoted communication as a force for peace. The Great War dealt a severe blow to these cosmopolitan ideals, and the post-war reordering of international science did little to resurrect them. A “national turn” during the 1920s assumed a darker form in the 1930s, as totalitarian regimes in the Soviet Union, Italy, Germany, and Spain associated science ever more closely with national interests. Although the Second World War further undermined the ideal of internationalism in science, the vision of science as part of a world culture open to all soon resurfaced, notably in UNESCO. As an aspiration, it remains with us today, in ventures for universal access to information made possible by digitization and the World Wide Web). The challenge in the twenty-first century is how best to turn aspiration into reality.

Politics and the Arts in Communist Bulgaria

Slavic Review ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald D. Egbert
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
The Other ◽  
Communist Country ◽  
World War ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
History Of Art ◽  
History Of ◽  
Communist Government

The Arts of Bulgaria since World War II are of considerable interest for the history of art largely because they so directly demonstrate what happens to the arts of a previously non-Communist country under Soviet dominance. Since the Communist take-over, not only has Bulgarian art directly reflected the Soviet political line but it has done this even more thoroughly than the art of the Soviet Union itself. For beautiful Bulgaria is such a compact and homogeneous little country—about 325 miles long and 215 miles wide, with a population of only 8 million people, about 90 percent of whom are of specifically Bulgarian stock—that its Communist government can control the arts with far greater ease than can the regime of so enormous and racially diversified a nation as the Soviet Union. Even long before World War II, Slavic Bulgaria had closer cultural links with Slavic Russia than did any of the other countries that fell under Soviet political domination as a consequence of the war. As might therefore have been expected, its arts have reflected the influence of the Soviet aesthetic of “socialist realism”—and the distinct but related and highly relevant Stalinist formula of an art “national in form and socialist in content”—more directly than have those of the other “satellites.”

scholarly journals Marzenie, które nigdy nie umiera: ideały i realia kosmopolityzmu w nauce w latach 1870–1940

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 46-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Fox ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Information Overload ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
First Century ◽  
Great War ◽  
National Interests ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Post War ◽  
Totalitarian Regimes ◽  
The Great War

In the half-century before the Great War, collaborative international ventures in science became increasingly common. The trend, manifested in scientific congresses and attempts to establish agreement on physical units and systems of nomenclature, had important consequences. One was the fear of information overload. How were scientists to keep abreast of the growing volume of books, journals, and reports? How were they to do so in an era without a common language? Responses to these challenges helped to foster new departures in cataloguing, bibliography, and an interest in Esperanto and other constructed languages. By 1914, the responses had also become involved in wider movements that promoted communication as a force for peace. The Great War dealt a severe blow to these cosmopolitan ideals, and the post-war reordering of international science did little to resurrect them. A “national turn” during the 1920s assumed a darker form in the 1930s, as totalitarian regimes in the Soviet Union, Italy, Germany, and Spain associated science ever more closely with national interests. Although the Second World War further undermined the ideal of internationalism in science, the vision of science as part of a world culture open to all soon resurfaced, notably in UNESCO. As an aspiration, it remains with us today, in ventures for universal access to information made possible by digitization and the World Wide Web). The challenge in the twenty-first century is how best to turn aspiration into reality.

Paradigms of Contemporary Music in Twenty-First-Century Russia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidia Ader
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Contemporary Music ◽  
New Music ◽  
First Century ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
State Support ◽  
The West ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Historical Factors

This chapter offers an account of the circumstances in which contemporary composers have had to operate since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the attendant diminution in state support for the arts which had been provided under the Communist regime. In addition to assessing the implications of these changes in practical terms, it also analyses the cultural, social, and historical factors which have caused new music to remain at the margins of general awareness. The second part of the chapter surveys the ways in which the principal stylistic tendencies evident in Russian new music today evince a lingering ambivalence in attitudes towards the West.

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