SYMPHONIES OF SUFFERING
Despite his resolutely European orientation and his conservatory education, Chaikovsky was just as acutely aware as the “kuchkists” of the condescension with which Western Europeans regarded Russians, alien and “Asiatic” by virtue of their long-lasting “Mongolian captivity” (vassalhood to the descendents of Genghis Khan in medieval times), their geographical remoteness, their Eastern Orthodox religion, even their crazy alphabet. “You can read it in their eyes,” he complained to his patroness, Nadezhda von Meck,
“You're just a Russian, but I am so kind and indulgent that I favor you with my attention.” The hell with them! Last year [1876] I found myself against my will at Liszt's. He was nauseatingly deferential, but a smile that never left his lips spoke the sentence I underlined above with perfect clarity. It goes without saying that by now I am less disposed than ever to go to these gentlemen on bended knee.35
- Citation (MLA):
- Richard Taruskin. "Chapter 14 The Symphony Goes (Inter)National." The Oxford History of Western Music. Oxford University Press. New York, USA. n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2024. <https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume3/actrade-9780195384833-div1-014008.xml>.
- Citation (APA):
- Taruskin, R. (n.d.). Chapter 14 The Symphony Goes (Inter)National. In Oxford University Press, Music in the Nineteenth Century. New York, USA. Retrieved 12 Nov. 2024, from https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume3/actrade-9780195384833-div1-014008.xml
- Citation (Chicago):
- Richard Taruskin. "Chapter 14 The Symphony Goes (Inter)National." In Music in the Nineteenth Century, Oxford University Press. (New York, USA, n.d.). Retrieved 12 Nov. 2024, from https://www.oxfordwesternmusic.com/view/Volume3/actrade-9780195384833-div1-014008.xml