The Queer Composition of Russian Sound and The Erasure of Queer Contributions

29 Apr

Introduction

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer, teacher, conductor and music critic. As a professional composer, Tchaikovsky was formed in the 1860-1870 years, marked by a great rise in the social and cultural life of the Russian Empire: the multifaceted development of Russian music, literature and painting, the flourishing of Russian natural science, bright achievements in the field of philosophy and aesthetics. Moreover, the identity of the composer is as important as the music he composed. Although there are still some debates present, most of the music historians agree that Tchaikovsky was homosexual1Poznansky, Alexander. Tchaikovsky: The Quest for the Inner Man. New York: Schirmer Books, 1991.. This article will describe the historical context of Tchaikovsky becoming an essential part of Russian history; address questions about his sexuality and how is sexuality connected to the identity of composers in general; examine the perception of the composer in modern-day Russia and analyze the erasure of queer contributions from historical accounts.

Tchaikovsky’s contribution to Russian sound

Tchaikovsky is one of the most famous Russian composers. His legacy is represented by different genres: these are ten operas, three ballets, seven symphonies, 104 romances, a number of program symphonic works, concerts and chamber-instrumental ensembles, choral compositions, cantatas, piano miniatures and piano cycles. Even if you have not ever heard of Tchaikovsky before, you have probably heard some of his compositions, for example, the Swan Lake or The Nutcracker ballets.

Swan Lake

Tchaikovsky became an essential part of Russian culture. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. At the same time, by learning the native musical practices he forged a personal but unmistakably Russian style2“Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.” April 26, 2021. Wikipedia wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky.. Tchaikovsky displayed a wide stylistic and emotional range. Some of his works employ a “Classical” form inherent to the 18th-century composers3Brown, David. “Glinka, Mikhail Ivanovich’ and ‘Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich“. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (20 volumes). London: MacMillan, 1980.. Other compositions, such as for example his Little Russian Symphony, flirt with musical practices more akin to those melodies written in the style of Russian folk songs. As music historians say, Tchaikovsky believed that his professionalism in combining skill and high standards in his musical works separated him from his contemporaries4Maes, Francis. A History of Russian Music: From Kamarinskaya to Babi Yar. Oakland: University of California Press, 2002.. He wanted to produce music that reflected Russian national character but which did so to the highest European standards of quality.

Consider some attributes of the composer’s music. Certain musical themes were alien to Russian practice, making Tchaikovsky’s music intensely expressive5Brown, David. “Glinka, Mikhail Ivanovich’ and ‘Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich“. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (20 volumes). London: MacMillan, 1980.. This intensity was entirely new to Russian music and prompted some people to place Tchaikovsky’s name alongside that of Dostoyevsky6Volkov, Solomon. Romanov Riches: Russian Writers and Artists Under the Tsars. New York: Alfred A. Knopf House, 2011.. Another distinctive feature is repetition. The repetition was a natural part of Tchaikovsky’s music, just as it is an integral part of Russian music7Warrack, John. Tchaikovsky Symphonies and Concertos. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1969.. Consider the Little Russian Symphony mentioned above, which also used three Ukrainian folk songs. It combined these features; we can clearly hear both the intensity and the repetition present in this symphony.

Little Russian Symphony (Russian: Малороссийская) – start at 8:40

Some other examples include the Slavic March, which was written to celebrate Russia’s intervention in the Serbo-Turkish War. It used some themes from the imperial Russian national anthem8“Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.” April 26, 2021. Wikipedia wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky..

Slavic March (Russian: Славянский Марш) – start at 2:35

From the examples above, we can clearly see Tchaikovsky’s contribution to Russian sound. He marks a new stage in the development of Russian music. As music historians say, his work represents an extremely valuable contribution to the Russian musical culture and an inseparable connection of it to the world culture. In the same way that you “hear America when you listen to Aaron Copland”9Hubbs, Nadine. Introduction to The Queer Composition of America’s Sound: Gay Modernists, American Identity, and National Identity. Oakland: University of California Press, 2002., you hear Russia when you listen to Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

Homosexuality

However, a substantial contribution to national sound is not the only similarity between Aaron Copland and Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Today, most biographers have generally agreed that Tchaikovsky was homosexual. Nonetheless, a discussion of Tchaikovsky’s personal life, especially his sexuality, has perhaps been the most extensive of any composer in the 19th century and certainly of any Russian composer of his time. It has also at times caused considerable turmoil, from the USSR’s efforts to exclude all evidence of his relationship and portray him as a heterosexual, to efforts at analysis by biographers10“Tchaikovsky Was Not Gay, Says Russian Culture Minister.” The Guardian, 18 Sept. 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/18/tchaikovsky-not-gay-russian-minister..

Examining one of the evidence, a strong homosexual attachment of the last years of Tchaikovsky is considered to be his nephew Vladimir “Bob” Davydov, to whom Tchaikovsky dedicated the Sixth Symphony, whom he made a co-heir and to whom he transferred the right to deduct income for the stage performance of his compositions11Poznansky, Alexander. Tchaikovsky: The Quest for the Inner Man. New York: Schirmer Books, 1991..

Symphony No. 6 in B minor (The Pathétique Symphony)

The composer entitled the work “The Passionate Symphony”, employing a Russian word, Патетическая, meaning “passionate” or “emotional”, which was then mistranslated into French as pathétique, meaning “solemn” or “emotive”. Analyzing this symphony, according to the American biographer and composer Alexander Poznansky: “the dedication of the Passionate Symphony to Bob Davydov hints … at the erotic dimension of its content”, the composer did not hide his love for his nephew12Poznansky, Alexander. Tchaikovsky: The Quest for the Inner Man. New York: Schirmer Books, 1991..

Nevertheless, Pyotr Tchaikovsky kept his sexuality hidden. Within the music profession, hiding one’s homosexuality was a widespread phenomenon. Many queer professional musicians believed then, and long continued to believe, that exposing their sexuality would undermine their chances for garnering artistic and professional legitimacy13Hubbs, Nadine. Introduction to The Queer Composition of America’s Sound: Gay Modernists, American Identity, and National Identity. Oakland: University of California Press, 2002.. The queer sexuality of some of these composers was the damning element of their identities they could choose not to disclose. And so they chose, claiming the identity of “real musician” over “queer” or “gay” while operating in an arena, where the two were perceived as mutually exclusive. In other words, whenever a gay composer was identified as gay, he was subject to a collective identity of “gay composer” that threatened to displace the radically excluded “real composer” identity to which he was otherwise entitled, and that was essential to his creative relevance and authority14Hubbs, Nadine. Introduction to The Queer Composition of America’s Sound: Gay Modernists, American Identity, and National Identity. Oakland: University of California Press, 2002..

For this and other reasons in dealings with the dominant culture these composers’ queerness was long guarded, if not actively denied, by the composers themselves and by their allies. For instance, in the 1870s, Tchaikovsky suffered from his sexual identity and tried to fight it. In 1870 he writes to his brother Modest: “If there is the slightest possibility, try not to be a homosexual. This is very sad.” In 1876, Tchaikovsky writes: “Homosexuality and pedagogy cannot get along.”15Blinov, Nikolay and Vasiliy Sokolov. Poslednyaa Bolezn i Smert P.I. Tchaikovsky. Muzyka, 1994. [in Russian] In addition, the requisite identity dodges and doubles were readily afforded by the established economy of compulsory heterosexuality, especially via the archetype of the artist “married to his art” and its bachelor-based variants like “priest of music.” For example, Aaron Copland in a 1974 interview could say at once cagily and altogether truthfully, “I’m a bachelor, in the tradition of Beethoven and Brahms.”16Hubbs, Nadine. Introduction to The Queer Composition of America’s Sound: Gay Modernists, American Identity, and National Identity. Oakland: University of California Press, 2002. Not surprisingly, in the same way Tchaikovsky was perceived as a bachelor “married to his art” by some sources. For instance, 1936 Nina Berberova’s “Tchaikovsky, The Story of a Lonely Life” (Russian: История Одинокой Жизни).

Modern-day Russia

The USSR, with its ubiquitous censorship, collapsed in 1991. So how did the perception of the composer changed in modern-day Russia, considering the extensive contribution Tchaikovsky made to Russian culture as established above? Nonetheless, such censorship has persisted in the Russian government. The reason for this is Russia’s parliament law that outlaws “gay propaganda” among minors. Essentially, it means any positive portrayal of homosexuality, or any claim that gay relations and straight relations are equally valid, is illegal.17“Tchaikovsky Was Not Gay, Says Russian Culture Minister.” The Guardian, 18 Sept. 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/18/tchaikovsky-not-gay-russian-minister. Due to substantial controversy surrounding this law, officials are usually asked questions about it, including famous people being gay. In an interview with Associated Press in 2013, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, conceded that Tchaikovsky was probably gay: “They say that Tchaikovsky was a homosexual. Truth be told, we don’t love him because of that, but he was a great musician, and we all love his music.”

Vladimir Putin’s interview with Associated Press (Russian) – start 1:05:43

In addition, Russia’s culture minister, Vladimir Medinsky, has denied the composer’s sexuality. Using the bachelor archetype, he claimed that there was no evidence to suggest the 19th-century composer was anything other than a lonely man who failed to find a suitable woman to marry. Medinsky said that we should focus on Tchaikovsky’s life as a “genius” and “a great Russian composer” and not focus on “rumors” about his private life18“Tchaikovsky Was Not Gay, Says Russian Culture Minister.” The Guardian, 18 Sept. 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/18/tchaikovsky-not-gay-russian-minister..

It is clear that major officials are trying to separate the composer’s identity from his music in order to push the political agenda of heterosexualization. It is done by preserving the exclusive status of the “genius” and “great Russian composer” identities. In the same way that “real musician” and “queer musician” cannot exist in the same identity, while Tchaikovsky is gay, he cannot be considered a “genius” and “a great Russian composer”. This denial and erasure of queer lives and contributions in historical accounts of nineteenth-century Russian culture reflect that culture’s suffusion in homophobia. Homophobic culture provides ample incentive for nonqueer-identified commentators to uphold queer-effacing views, including the dominant myths that assert heterosexuals’ exclusive place in cultural and social production and reproduction.

In conclusion, Tchaikovsky made a huge contribution to the development of Russian and world culture. No matter how hard you try to overwrite history, Tchaikovsky’s homosexuality is well documented by his own writings and the writings of his contemporaries. Most importantly, the composer’s sexuality is an essential part of his identity reflected in his work. Thus, it is crucial to illuminate some of the dense and productive intersections between, on the one hand, queer lives and their contributions, and on the other, modern Russian national culture and self-representation, in all their profound attempt to assert heterosexuals’ exclusive place. Otherwise, we will preserve the arena, where “real musician” and “queer musician” identities are mutually exclusive.

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References

References
1, 11, 12 Poznansky, Alexander. Tchaikovsky: The Quest for the Inner Man. New York: Schirmer Books, 1991.
2, 8 “Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.” April 26, 2021. Wikipedia wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky.
3, 5 Brown, David. “Glinka, Mikhail Ivanovich’ and ‘Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich“. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (20 volumes). London: MacMillan, 1980.
4 Maes, Francis. A History of Russian Music: From Kamarinskaya to Babi Yar. Oakland: University of California Press, 2002.
6 Volkov, Solomon. Romanov Riches: Russian Writers and Artists Under the Tsars. New York: Alfred A. Knopf House, 2011.
7 Warrack, John. Tchaikovsky Symphonies and Concertos. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1969.
9 Hubbs, Nadine. Introduction to The Queer Composition of America’s Sound: Gay Modernists, American Identity, and National Identity. Oakland: University of California Press, 2002.
10, 17, 18 “Tchaikovsky Was Not Gay, Says Russian Culture Minister.” The Guardian, 18 Sept. 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/18/tchaikovsky-not-gay-russian-minister.
13, 14, 16 Hubbs, Nadine. Introduction to The Queer Composition of America’s Sound: Gay Modernists, American Identity, and National Identity. Oakland: University of California Press, 2002.
15 Blinov, Nikolay and Vasiliy Sokolov. Poslednyaa Bolezn i Smert P.I. Tchaikovsky. Muzyka, 1994. [in Russian]