Crowd, Mob, and Nation in Boris Godunov

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Taruskin
Keyword(s):  
Original Version ◽  
Reception Studies ◽  
Russian People ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Boris Godunov

The two authorial versions of Musorgsky’s Boris Godunov reflect contrasting historiographical and ideological traditions that were being debated in the 1860s and 1870s, when the opera was being written. The difference is epitomized by the St. at St. Basil’s shrine in the original version, which depicts the crowd (i.e., the Russian people) according to the tradition of Nikolai Karamzin, the autocracy’s official historiographer, as submissive and dependent; and the so-called Kromy Forest scene which replaced it in the revised version, which depicts the crowd as actively rebellious and as a powerful agent, according to the then recent revisionary writings of Nikolai Kostomarov. What then of the widespread custom, dating from the Moscow Bolshoy Theater revival of the opera for Mujsorgsky’s centenary in 1939, of including the two scenes in a conflated version of the opera that the composer never imagined? Despite its manifest incoherence from an historiographical standpoint, it has become popular owing to its aesthetic and dramatic qualities. It thus crystallizes a key problem in academic reception studies, which have generally followed a modernist bias that upholds authors over audiences.

scholarly journals GARDNER'S PARADOX AND THEORY OF DESCRIPTIONS

ARHE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (34) ◽  
pp. 47-60
Author(s):  
GORAN RUJEVIĆ
Keyword(s):  
Definite Descriptions ◽  
The Other ◽  
Original Version ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Theory Of Descriptions

Martin Gardner's two-children paradox posits two scenarios, in one we know that of two children one is a girl, and in the other we know that of two children the older one is a girl. The chances of the other child being a girl is not the same in these two scenarios, in the first being 1 in 3 while in the second they are 1 in 2. Gardner himself believed that the problem of this paradox lies in the ambiguous way the scenarios are articulated. However, it is possible to show that the original version of the paradox provides sufficient content for a meaningful explanation of these unexpected results. Inspired by comments by Leonard Mlodinow, we attempt to provide a comprehensible explanation for this counterintuitive change with help of Bertrand Russell's theory of descriptions. The difference between the two scenarios then boils down to the difference between indefinite and definite descriptions.

Ryuji Kunimatsu Guitar Arrangement on the Oblivion by Astor Piazzolla: A Critical Analysis

2022 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-220
Author(s):  
Andre Indrawan ◽  
Noer Iskandar Albarsani ◽  
Kustap Kustap ◽  
Suryati Suryati
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Original Version ◽  
Classical Guitar ◽  
Musical Form ◽  
Basic Construction ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Astor Piazzolla ◽  
Musical Forms

This study examined the characteristics of Kunimatsu’s guitar arrangements in Astor Piazzolla’s Oblivion by comparing aspects of musical form, melody, and harmony. As with other arrangements’ performances, the primary motif of Astor Piazzola’sOblivion melodic theme in Kunimatsu guitar arrangement has always been played differently from the original version. This performance phenomenon could responsibly risk blurring the identification of structural boundaries within its musical form. The purpose of this study is to prove the basic construction of Oblivion melody, including its form structure and rhythmic characteristics, by comparing Kunimatsu’s arrangements against the composer’s original score. This study uses musicological research methods. The approaches applied in studying this work are analytical, theoretical, and comparative.  This study compares the two data to reveal the musical forms and the differences in the primary motive rhythmic characteristics. The results of this study are findings of the Oblivion musical forms in both publications and the differences in primary motives rhythmic patterns in both sources. The difference in musical form is impressive, possibly caused by the insertion of auxiliary members. As a result, Kunamitsu arrangement includes using the two-part song form, originally a three-part song form. With the revelation of the original melodic structure that is clear from the results of this study, the musicians who will present the Oblivion will at least have the essential reference in their interpretation. This research contributes to expanding studies in classical guitar performance and musical forms and new approaches in textual musicological analysis that are still infrequent.

Crowd, mob, and nation in Boris Godunov: What did musorgsky think, and does it matter?

2011 ◽  
Vol 52 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 123-142
Author(s):  
Richard Taruskin
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
The Other ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
Russian People ◽  
Political Ideas ◽  
Holy Fool ◽  
Single Production ◽  
Boris Godunov ◽  
The One ◽  
The Way

When Musorgsky revised his opera Boris Godunov in 1871–1872 as a condition for its eventual performance in 1874, he made many changes that went far beyond what the Imperial Theaters demanded of him. Among these changes was the composition of a crowd scene outside Moscow, in which the rebellious populace hails the Pretender, to replace a crowd scene at Red Square in which a submissive, hungry crowd beg Boris for bread. The original scene came, like the rest of the libretto, directly from Pushkin’s eponymous play. The new scene reflected a new view of the historical events, and Musorgsky wrote his own text for it. The two scenes are ideologically at odds, particularly as regards their view of the Russian nation in relation to the Russian people. Moreover, the two scenes share the episode of the Holy Fool and the thieving boys, which Musorgsky transferred from the one score to the other. Obviously, Musorgsky regarded them as incompatible within a single production and thought he had made conflating them impossible. And yet, at the Bolshoy Theater in 1939, the two scenes were indeed played that way, inconsistencies and redundancies be damned. The Bolshoy production (which became widely known through recordings and film) might be written off, the way we tend to write off the art of the Stalinist era, as a politically motivated anomaly. But other productions, including one in San Francisco in 1992, and one that was mounted in 2010 at the Teatro Regio in Torino, have included both scenes without any such evident motivation, possibly because the Bolshoy production is now regarded by some as canonical. Is the historiographical contradiction involving our theme of Opera and Nation to be regarded as a blemish? If not, what considerations can be seen to outweigh it? Can Musorgsky’s political ideas be deduced from the work in which we assume they are embodied? And if they can be, should they be regarded as an aspect of the work that performers need respect?

scholarly journals "Dance щf The Seven Veils" Based щn Oscar Wilde's Drama "Salome" In The Director's Interpretation щf The Modern Era

2021 ◽  
pp. 117-132
Author(s):  
Olena Kasyanova
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Gospel Of Matthew ◽  
Original Version ◽  
Musical Drama ◽  
Current Information ◽  
John The Baptist ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Modern Era ◽  
Innovative Approaches

The urgency to address to the theme of Salome in conditions of postmodern culture is considered. Some attempts are made to read anew and rethink it in the era of current information technology. Attention is paid to the peculiarities of the interpretation of the image of Salome and the "Dance of the Seven Veils" in the iconographic sources of the 12th – early 21st centuries through the prism of the aesthetics of certain era aimed to find artistic means of expression. An overview of the reflection of the event at the feast of Tetrarch Herod in the Gospel of Matthew and Mark. The content of the young princess's fateful dance, which led to irreparable tragic consequences — the beheading of John the Baptist. The necessity of using the concept of different branches of knowledge in order to establish a holistic picture of the development of events in this scene is proved. The sources that inspired O. Wilde to create the drama "Salome" are identified. The peculiarities of artistic interpretations of the image of the princess by the writer S. Mallarme and the artist G. Moreau are reflected in the article, in addition, the author showed the difference in the interpretation in the author's concept by O. Wilde. The stage version of "Salome" of 1902, directed by M. Reinhardt, is analyzed, the master's innovative approaches to the embodiment of dance are singled out against the background of the original scenography solution of M. Krause and L. Corinth, which became an aesthetic discovery in theatrical art of the modern era. Peculiarities of interpretation of Salome's dance based on O. Wilde's drama to O. Glazunov's music, with L. Bakst's decoration, M. Fokin's choreography, which continued modern experiments on the stage embodiment of the said work, are revealed. Priorities are set by dance director M. Fokin to work with iconographic sources, artistic design of the issue over the analysis of his musical drama. The results of the choreographer's search for new, relevant to the modern era, means of stage expression, their non-standard, bold combination to create an original version of the artistic and holistic spectacle are outlined. The influence of innovative discoveries of M. Reinhardt, V. Meyerhold and M. Fokin on further dance interpretations in R. Strauss's opera "Salome"

Crowd, Mob, and Nation in Boris Godunov: What Did Musorgsky Think, and Does It Matter?

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Taruskin
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
Russian People ◽  
Political Ideas ◽  
Holy Fool ◽  
Single Production ◽  
Boris Godunov ◽  
The One ◽  
The Way ◽  
New View

When Musorgsky revised his opera Boris Godunov in 1871–72 as a condition for its eventual performance in 1874, he made many changes that went far beyond what the Imperial Theaters demanded of him. Among these changes was the composition of a crowd scene outside Moscow, in which the rebellious populace hails the Pretender, to replace a crowd scene at Red Square in which a submissive, hungry crowd begs Boris for bread. The original scene came, like the rest of the libretto, directly from Pushkin's eponymous play. The new scene reflected a new view of the historical events, and Musorgsky wrote his own text for it. The two scenes are ideologically at odds, particularly as regards their view of the Russian nation in relation to the Russian people. Moreover, the two scenes share the episode of the Holy Fool and the thieving boys, which Musorgsky transferred from the one score to the other. Obviously, Musorgsky regarded them as incompatible within a single production and thought he had made conflating them impossible. And yet, at the Bolshoy Theater, beginning in 1927, the two scenes have indeed been played that way, inconsistencies and redundancies be damned. The Bolshoy production of 1939 (which became widely known and influential through recordings and film) might be written off, the way we tend to write off the art of the Stalinist era, as a politically motivated anomaly. But many other productions and most recordings since 1948 have included both scenes without any such evident motivation, indicating that the Bolshoy production is now regarded as canonical. Is the historiographical contradiction involving the theme of the conference at which this article was first presented (“Opera and Nation,” Budapest 2010) to be regarded as a blemish? If not, what considerations can be seen to outweigh it? Can Musorgsky's political ideas be deduced from the work in which we assume they are embodied? And if they can be, should they be regarded as an aspect of the work that performers need respect?

The Origin of the Moon

1962 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. L. Ruskol
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Solar System ◽  
The Moon ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Origin Of The Moon

The difference between average densities of the Moon and Earth was interpreted in the preceding report by Professor H. Urey as indicating a difference in their chemical composition. Therefore, Urey assumes the Moon's formation to have taken place far away from the Earth, under conditions differing substantially from the conditions of Earth's formation. In such a case, the Earth should have captured the Moon. As is admitted by Professor Urey himself, such a capture is a very improbable event. In addition, an assumption that the “lunar” dimensions were representative of protoplanetary bodies in the entire solar system encounters great difficulties.

Influence of Cell Wall Composition on the Fossilisation of Bacteria and the Implications for the Search for Early Life Forms

1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 491-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Westall
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Cation Binding ◽  
Positive Bacterium ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Hydrothermal Sediments ◽  
Identification Of Bacteria ◽  
The Difference

AbstractThe oldest cell-like structures on Earth are preserved in silicified lagoonal, shallow sea or hydrothermal sediments, such as some Archean formations in Western Australia and South Africa. Previous studies concentrated on the search for organic fossils in Archean rocks. Observations of silicified bacteria (as silica minerals) are scarce for both the Precambrian and the Phanerozoic, but reports of mineral bacteria finds, in general, are increasing. The problems associated with the identification of authentic fossil bacteria and, if possible, closer identification of bacteria type can, in part, be overcome by experimental fossilisation studies. These have shown that not all bacteria fossilise in the same way and, indeed, some seem to be very resistent to fossilisation. This paper deals with a transmission electron microscope investigation of the silicification of four species of bacteria commonly found in the environment. The Gram positiveBacillus laterosporusand its spore produced a robust, durable crust upon silicification, whereas the Gram negativePseudomonas fluorescens, Ps. vesicularis, andPs. acidovoranspresented delicately preserved walls. The greater amount of peptidoglycan, containing abundant metal cation binding sites, in the cell wall of the Gram positive bacterium, probably accounts for the difference in the mode of fossilisation. The Gram positive bacteria are, therefore, probably most likely to be preserved in the terrestrial and extraterrestrial rock record.

Structuring, Motions and Shapes of Corona Emission Line Profiles

1994 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 421-426
Author(s):  
N. F. Tyagun
Keyword(s):  
Emission Line ◽  
Filling Factor ◽  
Direct Relationship ◽  
Coronal Plasma ◽  
Line Of Sight ◽  
Line Profiles ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Yellow Line ◽  
Red Line

AbstractThe interrelationship of half-widths and intensities for the red, green and yellow lines is considered. This is a direct relationship for the green and yellow line and an inverse one for the red line. The difference in the relationships of half-widths and intensities for different lines appears to be due to substantially dissimilar structuring and to a set of line-of-sight motions in ”hot“ and ”cold“ corona regions.When diagnosing the coronal plasma, one cannot neglect the filling factor - each line has such a factor of its own.

Difference Fourier Analysis of Glucose Embedded and Frozen Hydrated Purple Membrane

1982 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 74-75
Author(s):  
Jules S. Jaffe ◽  
Robert M. Glaeser
Keyword(s):  
Purple Membrane ◽  
Data Set ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
Fourier Techniques ◽  
Versus Protein ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Difference Fourier ◽  
Ideal Method

Although difference Fourier techniques are standard in X-ray crystallography it has only been very recently that electron crystallographers have been able to take advantage of this method. We have combined a high resolution data set for frozen glucose embedded Purple Membrane (PM) with a data set collected from PM prepared in the frozen hydrated state in order to visualize any differences in structure due to the different methods of preparation. The increased contrast between protein-ice versus protein-glucose may prove to be an advantage of the frozen hydrated technique for visualizing those parts of bacteriorhodopsin that are embedded in glucose. In addition, surface groups of the protein may be disordered in glucose and ordered in the frozen state. The sensitivity of the difference Fourier technique to small changes in structure provides an ideal method for testing this hypothesis.

Destruction of Actin Filaments by Osmium Tetroxide

1977 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 466-467
Author(s):  
P. Maupin-Szamier ◽  
T. D. Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Rabbit Muscle ◽  
Muscle Actin ◽  
Sodium Phosphate Buffer ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Rates Of Decay ◽  
Short Time

We have studied the destruction of rabbit muscle actin filaments by osmium tetroxide (OSO4) to develop methods which will preserve the structure of actin filaments during preparation for transmission electron microscopy.Negatively stained F-actin, which appears as smooth, gently curved filaments in control samples (Fig. 1a), acquire an angular, distorted profile and break into progressively shorter pieces after exposure to OSO4 (Fig. 1b,c). We followed the time course of the reaction with viscometry since it is a simple, quantitative method to assess filament integrity. The difference in rates of decay in viscosity of polymerized actin solutions after the addition of four concentrations of OSO4 is illustrated in Fig. 2. Viscometry indicated that the rate of actin filament destruction is also dependent upon temperature, buffer type, buffer concentration, and pH, and requires the continued presence of OSO4. The conditions most favorable to filament preservation are fixation in a low concentration of OSO4 for a short time at 0°C in 100mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 6.0.

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