from russia with love: a study of russian trumpet...

Running Head: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE: A STUDY OF RUSSIAN TRUMPET… 1

From Russia with Love: A Study of Russian Trumpet Literature by Alexandra Pakhmutova and

Alexander Goedicke

Jessica Merritt

University of Mary Washington

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE… 2

ABSTRACT

This project will work towards the presentation of a lecture recital on Alexandra Pakhmutova

and a selection from her concerto for trumpet, in addition to Alexander Goedicke’s “Concert

Etude”. The title theme, “From Russia with Love,” represents Pakhmutova’s love for music and

her country. The research will include historical background, what influenced the composers,

their compositional techniques, nationalistic qualities, and theoretical analysis in an effort to

develop a deeper understanding of these composers and specifically Alexandra Pakhmutova as a

contemporary, female composer in a field mainly dominated by men who lived long before her

time.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................... 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................................. 3

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 4

HISTORY OF RUSSIAN MUSIC ...................................................................................................................... 4

THEORY ....................................................................................................................................................... 6

WOMEN IN MUSIC ...................................................................................................................................... 7

ABOUT THE COMPOSERS ............................................................................................................................ 8

ABOUT THE PIECES...................................................................................................................................... 8

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................ 11

REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................................. 12


From Russia with Love: A Study of Russian Trumpet Literature by Alexandra Pakhmutova and

Alexander Goedicke

INTRODUCTION

Much of the music studied by classical trumpet students includes pieces written by men

hundreds of years ago. Women working in music either as trumpet performers or composers is

becoming increasingly popular, but it is still not the norm known to most people. Alexandra

(Aleksandra) Pakhmutova is a Russian composer. While she may not be a popular name for

most, Aleksandra has made an enormous contribution to music in Russia. Alexander Goedicke’s

“Concert Etude” for trumpet is a piece played by almost every student who studies the

instrument. This research will include historical background, what influenced the composers,

their compositional techniques, and theoretical analysis in an effort to develop a deeper

understanding of theses composers, their works, and how those works fit into the Russian

nationalistic style of music.

HISTORY OF RUSSIAN MUSIC

Russian music was instantly popular when it became available in the English concert-

word in the 1890s. Some said it “naturally appealed to the awakening intelligence of the musical

masses by vehement motional spontaneity, orgiastic frenzy, dazzling effects of colour, barbaric

rhythm and unrestrained abandonment to physical excitement,” (Abraham, 1969, p. 1).

Olkhovsky explains, in his book “Music Under the Soviets,” how Russian music and culture

developed in accordance with the direction and intentions of the political powers of Russia, not

as it would have evolved naturally (1955, p. 43).


In the late nineteenth century music was part of life for many in Russia (Olkhovsky,

1955, p. 103). It was not unusual to find native instruments and pianos in Russian homes,

especially those in urban areas. This changed as the politics of the state changed. The folk songs

that had been part of the culture fell away with the new way of life, in both urban and rural areas.

Except for the “propaganda mass-song” played by the government, Soviet children were

“deprived of any contact with music” (Olkhovsky, 1955, p. 103). This was true of not only low

income families. Music had no place, even in the homes of medium income families. The cost

of transportation to concert venues, the lack of appropriate clothing, and the exhaustion from the

harsh living and working conditions made it so that families did not often attend free concerts

given by the state, one of the few opportunities for musical exposure.

It is a wonder that we have Russian musicians and composers. According to Olkhovsky,

school aged children were allowed one music lesson per week (1955, p. 104). This lesson also

incorporated lectures on politics and propaganda. These classes were taught by specialists

known until 1940 as, “Departments of Social Education,” further emphasizing that these lessons

were not truly musical in nature, but more part of a social/political education. It was rare for

Soviet schools to have a chorus, orchestra, or any other musical group that allowed students the

chance to learn an instrument.

Before World War II, there were nine conservatories in Russia offering different

programs ranging from four years to fifteen years of education. These plans were often a general

secondary school education in combination with a music education. Of the nine conservatories,

only the three largest offered specialized departments in all areas of music, including

composition, orchestral conducting, music history, theory, solo instrument and vocal


performance, pedagogy, and teacher training for choral directors, and leaders of orchestras

comprised of folk instruments and amateur musicians (Olkhovsky, 1955, p. 108).

THEORY

In his book “Music Under the Soviets,” Olkhovsky tells us that one of the most

characteristic features of Russian composers during the early 1900s and their music is the “deep,

indissoluble contact with the historical traditions of Russian music, revealed not directly, as is

demanded by the Party propagandists, but through the use of the creative experience of Russian

composers,” (1955, p. 191). When looking at the aspects of these composers’ music you can

separate it into, melody, harmony, rhythm, orchestration, the structure of their music, and the

character of their themes.

Russian composers of the early twentieth century believed that melody was the “soul of

music,” (Olkhovsky, 1955, p. 193). Despite their high regard for melody, they did not always

believe that the melody had to be sing-able. Prokof’yev wrote,

“There is nothing so difficult as to find a melody that can be immediately understood

even by an untrained person and at the same time is original. Here a composer is exposed

to great danger: he may easily become trivial or vulgar, or he may reproduce that which

has already been heard,” (Olkhovsky, 1955, p. 193).

In their harmonies, composers of the Soviet Union often used a blend of homophony with

thematic ostinato patterns. The harmonic language of these composers often included discords

and accidental tone combinations, relying on the relationship between tonic and dominant to

solidify a tonal center (Olkhovsky, 1955, p. 196). Russian compositions typically feature

“grouped rhythms,” (Olkhovsky, 1955, p. 198). This way of writing creates syncopation by


incorporating pauses, interruptions, tied notes, and strong accents. Orchestration is another tool

these composers have used to distinguish their music. Many compositions of this time

transformed full ensembles to chamber ensembles through their orchestration, such as the two

flutes accompanied by the harp in the third movement of Shostakovich’s “Fifth Symphony,”

(Olkhovsky, 1955, p. 198). The main structure used by these composers was sonata construction

and the use of the symphonic cycle.

WOMEN IN MUSIC

Judith Tick tells us in her book, “American Women Composers before 1870,” that music

was a regular part of “fashionable female education,” in the late-eighteenth century (1979, p. 17).

It was a sign of wealth to have daughters who played instruments, as they had the free time to

devote to the study of music instead of having to work to help support their families. Women

were expected to have some knowledge of music, even if they possessed little talent for it.

Conversely, if a woman had a large amount of talent for music they were not encouraged to

develop that talent. Female composers did not gain wide, public acknowledgement until the

late-nineteenth century (Tick, 1979, p. 229). The article “Women in Music,” from Oxford music

online tells us that before 1825, very few women had works published. It was not until after

World War II that the percentage of women in music careers began to climb significantly. The

percentage of women in major symphony orchestras went from 8% in 1947 to 26.3% in 1982.

The percentage of women teaching composition in colleges and universities practically doubled

in two to three years, rising from 5.8% in 1972-4 to 10.6% in 1975-6.


ABOUT THE COMPOSERS

Alexandra Pakhmutova was born in 1929 and is still alive today. That makes her 87

years old (Manul’kina, 2001, p. 916). Pakhmutova studied composition at the Moscow

Conservatory. She was most popular for her songs; of which she has written more than four

hundred. She was said to have an “individual voice and unfailing ability to respond to

contemporary events.” (Manul’kina, 2001, p. 916). Pakhmutova was active in her country’s

culture and politics, writing songs that covered topics from Gagarin, the first man in space

(1961), to the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, the Komsomol youth communist movement (2012),

and music for the 1980 Olympic games.

Alexander Goedicke was born in 1877 and died at the age of 80 in 1957 (Oron).

Goedicke was a Russian composer, piano player, and organist. Like Pakhmutova, Goedicke

studied at the Moscow Conservatory. Goedicke composed works for opera, orchestra, and

chamber ensembles. Despite the volume of his compositions he is often best remembered for his

“Concert Etude” for trumpet (Oron). This work can be found in virtually every trumpet studio

syllabus.

ABOUT THE PIECES

Alexandra Pakhmutova’s “Concerto” for trumpet and Alexander Goedicke’s “Concert

Etude” exhibit several examples of the theoretical aspects common to Russian music. Both

pieces feature the use of an ostinato, or

repeated motif or phrase. In these excerpts

from Pakhmutova’s “Concerto” you can see


the repeated use of the perfect fourth interval,

which appears many times throughout the

piece. This recurrent use of the interval

between scale degrees 1 and 4 can be inverted to create the relationship between tonic and

dominant that Russian composers were famous for. This helps establish the tonal center that is

lost in the harmonic language of discords and accidental tone combinations found in the piano

and orchestra parts of Pakhmutova’s “Concerto.”

The repeated pattern in Goedicke’s Concert Etude is much more complex, but again the

same material is repeated over and over throughout the piece.

An example of homophony can also be found in Goedicke’s “Concert Etude.” In measure 57,

you can see the left hand in the piano playing eighth note patterns similar to the trumpet, the

same thing occurs in measure 60-61 when the left hand in the piano plays sixteenth notes,

although in a legato style while the trumpet is staccato.


“Grouped rhythms”- are more evident in Pakhmutova’s “Concerto” where the composer makes

frequent use of ties and short rests to create syncopation. An example of this syncopation is

created by ties is in measure 12-19, you can see that almost every measure is carried over the

barline.

Adding short rests and pauses can also lend itself to creating syncopation through “grouped

rhythms.” Measure 52 to 57 in Alexandra Pakhmutova’s “Concert” lends itself to this kind of


syncopation as the groupings of shorter duration notes are often placed off the beat and are used

to lead into the note of longer duration on the following note.

CONCLUSION

Women working in music professionally is still gaining acceptance, and has shown

significant growth in recent years. Over time, depending on the political climate of the State,

music in Russia has played many different roles. Once common in most households, music

became virtually eradicated except for the propaganda music provided by the government.

Where music was still studied and performed the composers had certain techniques that were

common to most Russian music. These ways of using melody, harmony, rhythm, orchestration,

the structure of their music, and the character of their themes worked together to form a style of

music unlike any other. Alexander Goedicke’s “Concert Etude,” and Alexandra Pakhmutova’s

“Concerto” for trumpet utilize these techniques, making them excellent examples of Russian

nationalistic music.


REFERENCES

(1961). Man Enters Space. Retrieved from

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/sts1/gagarin_anniversary.html

(2012). The Komsomol(s): Political Platform for The All-Union Leninist Young Communist

League of the Russian Federation. Retrieved from http://www.sras.org/komsomol

Abraham, G. (1969). Studies in Russian Music. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

Manul’kina, O. (2001). Pakhmutova, Aleksandra Nikolayevna. The New Grove Dictionary of

Music and Musicians. In volume 18 Nisard to Palestrina (pp.916-917). New York,

Macmillan Publishers Limited.

Olkhovsky, A. (1955). Music Under The Soviets. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Inc.

Oron, A. (2007), Tsompanidis, A. (2010). Alexander Goedicke (Composer, Arranger).

Retrieved from http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Goedicke-Alexander.htm

Tick, J. (1979). American Women Composers before 1870. Rochester, New York. University

of Rochester Press.

Tony. (2014). Why is music for strings more likely to be in keys with sharps? Retrieved from

http://music.stackexchange.com/questions/17046/why-is-music-for-strings-more-likely-

to-be-in-keys-with-sharps#comment23213_17046

Women in music. Oxford Music Online. Retrieved from

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/page/Women_in_music

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/sts1/gagarin_anniversary.html

http://www.sras.org/komsomol

http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Goedicke-Alexander.htm

http://music.stackexchange.com/questions/17046/why-is-music-for-strings-more-likely-to-be-in-keys-with-sharps#comment23213_17046

http://music.stackexchange.com/questions/17046/why-is-music-for-strings-more-likely-to-be-in-keys-with-sharps#comment23213_17046

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/public/page/Women_in_music

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