Khrennikov's Seven
Encyclopedia
Khrennikov’s Seven was a group of seven Russia
n Soviet composer
s denounced at the Sixth Congress of the Composers' Union by its leader Tikhon Khrennikov
for the unapproved participation in some festivals of Soviet music in the West. Khrennikov called their music "pointlessness... and noisy mud instead of real musical innovation". The seven were listed in the following order: Elena Firsova
, Dmitri Smirnov
, Alexander Knaifel, Viktor Suslin
, Vyacheslav Artyomov
, Sofia Gubaidulina
and Edison Denisov
. Some sources say, that they were put under official boycott. Newer research shows, that this might be a politically distorted perception. Inside the USSR, the speech was almost without consequences for the composers, however in the west it was taken as a proof of restrictive cultural politics. Publishers use this speech to promote their composers to this day. The composers themselves understood, that such rumours would likely be heard in the West. Artyomov gives dubious accounts of the performance of his symphony Way to Olympus at the Moscow Autumn Festival in 1979.
The tone of the denunciation harked back to the First Congress of 1948, at which Prokofiev
, Shostakovich
, Myaskovsky
and others were victimized.
By 1991 four of the seven had left the Soviet Union (except Knaifel, Denisov and Artyomov), Denisov left the country in 1994 and died in Paris two years later.
tried to bring these rebels [a group of younger composers known as "unofficial" composers] to heel. The egregious hack Tikhon Khrennikov, head of the Soviet Composers' Union, attacked seven of them by name in terms that were an unintended compliment: he called their music "not representative of the work Soviet composers"." (Gerard McBurney
)
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Soviet composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
s denounced at the Sixth Congress of the Composers' Union by its leader Tikhon Khrennikov
Tikhon Khrennikov
Tikhon Nikolayevich Khrennikov was a Russian and Soviet composer, pianist, leader of the Union of Soviet Composers, who was also known for his political activities...
for the unapproved participation in some festivals of Soviet music in the West. Khrennikov called their music "pointlessness... and noisy mud instead of real musical innovation". The seven were listed in the following order: Elena Firsova
Elena Firsova
Elena Olegovna Firsova is a Russian composer.-Life:She was born in Leningrad into the family of physicists Oleg Firsov and Viktoria Lichko. She studied music in Moscow with Alexander Pirumov, Yuri Kholopov, Edison Denisov and Philip Herschkowitz...
, Dmitri Smirnov
Dmitry Nikolayevich Smirnov (composer)
Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov is a Russian and British composer.-Biography:He was born in Minsk into a family of opera singers and he studied at the Moscow Conservatory 1967-1972 under Nikolai Sidelnikov, Yuri Kholopov and Edison Denisov. He also studied privately with Webern's pupil Philip...
, Alexander Knaifel, Viktor Suslin
Viktor Suslin
Viktor Yevseyevich Suslin |Ural]], Russia ) is a Russian composer living in Germany as of 1981.-Biography:At the age of four , Suslin began to study piano and made his first attempts at composition. From 1950 to 1962 he attended Kharkiv Music High School, and from 1961 to 1962 at Kharkiv...
, Vyacheslav Artyomov
Vyacheslav Artyomov
Vyacheslav Petrovich Artyomov also Artemov is a Russian and Soviet composer.-Biography:Artyomov first studied physics at the Moscow University, then later studied music. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1968 where studied composition with Nikolai Sidelnikov. He became a member of the...
, Sofia Gubaidulina
Sofia Gubaidulina
Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina, is a Russian composer of half Russian, half Tatar ethnicity.Gubaidulina's music is marked by the use of unusual instrumental combinations...
and Edison Denisov
Edison Denisov
Edison Vasilievich Denisov was a Russian composer of so called "Underground" — "Anti-Collectivist", "alternative" or "nonconformist" division in the Soviet music.-Biography:...
. Some sources say, that they were put under official boycott. Newer research shows, that this might be a politically distorted perception. Inside the USSR, the speech was almost without consequences for the composers, however in the west it was taken as a proof of restrictive cultural politics. Publishers use this speech to promote their composers to this day. The composers themselves understood, that such rumours would likely be heard in the West. Artyomov gives dubious accounts of the performance of his symphony Way to Olympus at the Moscow Autumn Festival in 1979.
The tone of the denunciation harked back to the First Congress of 1948, at which Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
, Myaskovsky
Nikolai Myaskovsky
Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is sometimes referred to as the "father of the Soviet symphony".-Early years and first important works:...
and others were victimized.
By 1991 four of the seven had left the Soviet Union (except Knaifel, Denisov and Artyomov), Denisov left the country in 1994 and died in Paris two years later.
Quotations
"In 1979, the Communist PartyCommunist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
tried to bring these rebels [a group of younger composers known as "unofficial" composers] to heel. The egregious hack Tikhon Khrennikov, head of the Soviet Composers' Union, attacked seven of them by name in terms that were an unintended compliment: he called their music "not representative of the work Soviet composers"." (Gerard McBurney
Gerard McBurney
Gerard McBurney — British composer, arranger, broadcaster, teacher and writer.Born 20 June 1954, in Cambridge, England. He is the son of Charles McBurney, an American archaeologist, and Anne Francis Edmondstone , who was a British secretary of English, Scots, and Irish ancestry...
)
See also
- Zhdanov doctrineZhdanov DoctrineThe Zhdanov Doctrine was a Soviet cultural doctrine developed by the Central Committee secretary Andrei Zhdanov in 1946. It proposed that the world was divided into two camps: the imperialistic, headed by the United States; and democratic, headed by the Soviet Union...
- Union of Soviet ComposersUnion of Soviet ComposersThe USSR Union of Composers or Union of Composers of the USSR , , was a professional organisation of composers in the Soviet Union...
- ACM - Association for Contemporary MusicACM - Association for Contemporary MusicAssociation for Contemporary Music was an alternative organization of Russian composers interested in avant-garde music. It was founded by Nikolai Roslavets in 1923. ACM ran concert series and published magazines promoting the modernist music of Mahler, Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Krenek, and...