RUSSIAN LITERATURE AT THE
TURN OF THE CENTURIES
a scientific conference on the problems
and evolution of contemporary Russian literature
By V. Zherdeva
Specialists in the Russian language and literature from Russia, the
CIS, Poland, China and South Korea, took part in a conference on the problems
and evolution of contemporary Russian literature, held in Moscow at the
end of January.
"How do I know? Perhaps, having just opened my notes, a disappointed
reader screws up his face in disgust. Today's reader makes a stark contrast
with that patient book lover who would read a two-volume novel up to the
last page only to exclaim "What rubbish!", ironically complained
contemporary Russian writer Vladimir Lobas.
Indeed, today nearly two-thirds of readers prefer small-size adventure
or detective books, the so-called one-day butterflies. The rest have world
literary legacy at their disposal, let alone Russian classics such as Alexander
Pushkin, Fedor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky, Ivan
Bunin, Anna Akhmatova, Boris Pasternak and others.
What will Russian literature be like in the 21st century? What new
forms will emerge? How does Russian literature fit in with the international
literary context? These and other questions were raised at the Moscow conference.
Contemporary authors such as Mikhail Shishkin, Booker Prize-2000 winner
and avant-garde writer Dmitry Prigov, the well-known fiction writer Victor
Pelevin, poet Pavel Bastrakov, whose books will be among 21st century classics
were subject of serious analysis.
One of the acutest problems worrying philologists throughout the world
is the problem of Internet-literature. Most agree that third-grade opuses
published on the Internet as part of the search for new conceptual decisions
give a distorted picture of the contemporary literary process. But not
all philologists share this view. Professor Irina Arzamastseva:
"In my opinion, Internet-literature is in the state of primordial
chaos into which we, philologists, are seeking to bring harmony. But one
should not forget that all new ideas are born out of chaos. There are many
interesting things a patient researcher can find on the Internet, for example,
works by the Italian writer Umberto or our Dmitry Prigov. We shouldn't
be afraid that Internet-literature will oust books. Rather, it will develop
as a peculiar form of book publishing along with the traditional one.
The majority of participants are university professors, hence there
was no avoiding discussion of how Russian literature, a compulsory subject
at all leading universities, was being taught overseas? In Britain, for
instance, students are allowed to choose which writers they would prefer
to study. Chinese universities offer a compulsory course on the 19th and
20th century Russian literature. In Israel the program is nearly the same
as in Russia. Academician Vladimir Agenosov recalled an incident at Oxford:
"One student wanted to find the meaning of the words "parubki"
and "garny divchiny". There were no such words in Vladimir Dal's
dictionary of the Russian language. So he went through every possible dictionary,
every possible reference book, and, finally, did find them. He took the
pains to prove to me that he knew and understood Gogol whose prose is based
on Ukrainian folklore". What attracts foreigners to Russian literature?
The Chinese philologist Tsin Tefen explains: "If a person is keen
on literature, he will study Russian literature by all means, because it
occupies a leading place in world culture" .
ANNA YESIPOVA: FILIGREE VIRTUOSITY,
SUBTLETY AND GRACE
to the 150th anniversary of her birth
February 12 marked 150 years since the birth of the outstanding Russian
pianist Anna Yesipova.
Bernard Shaw wrote after one of Yesipova's London concerts that her
cold disdain for difficulties, the incredible fluency of her fingers, her
graceful and haste-free manner of playing, devoid of sentimentality - all
that commanded admiration. 
Esipova's
brilliant technique put her in on row with such virtuoso pianists as Anton
and Nikolai Rubinshtein, Hans Bulow, Ignacy Paderewski, Josef Hofmann and
Clara Schumann.
If Anna's father cared to think at all about his daughter's musical
future, he must have imagined her as a singer rather than a musician. In
her early years she revealed an extraordinary gift for music and a infallible
memory. At 7, having heard a piece at a concert, she could repeat it at
home with a high degree of exactitude. Above all, she was very fond of
singing. However, when she was at a proper age to learn to play the piano,
no serious steps were taken. It was not until she turned 13 that Anna got
enrolled into the St.-Petersburg Conservatory. Her professor was Alexandr
Valluan, the celebrated teacher of the Rubinshtein brothers. The Polish
pianist Theodor Leschetizky, who was working at the Conservatory at the
time, was the first to notice the girl's talent. Having heard her play
at a public exam, he said: "This little one is possessed, she will
be a great artist if she tames her nature". Several years later Leschetizky
and Yesipova got married. Under her husband's influence the obstinate and
self-willed Anna became more serious and persevering. Her first concerts
got favorable reviews. After her debut in December 1871, composer Petr
Tchaikovsky noted that Yesipova's virtuosity combined two great merits:
impeccable technique and artistic maturity. Critics wrote that she had
no equals in sound extraction. Ferencz Liszt was delighted by the exquisite
purity and softness of her sound. He presented the young lady with his
portrait. An inscription on it read: "To Annette Yesipova. November
10, 1873, Pest. Faithfully, Ferencz Liszt".
Within a short period of time Yesipova gave a colossal number of concerts
in Russia and Western Europe. In 1876 she receives an invitation to perform
in the United States. 105 concerts in half a year! In New York alone she
presents 37 programs on her favorite Steinway with which she never parts.
The tour was a tremendous success. Yesipova handed out thousands of autographs.
Her photos adorned shop-windows in many cities. One newspaper printed her
full-size portrait with a cupid holding scores and sent it out to its subscribers.
No wonder she had lots of admirers for she was not only a talented
pianist, but a very attractive woman. There is a portrait at the St.-Petersburg
Conservatory: Anna in an evening gown, a charming figure, proud bearing,
grayish green shining eyes... Her rather extravagant clothes matched her
extraordinary beauty and feminity. At her last concert in New York she
appeared to the public in a star-striped costume symbolizing the American
flag.
During her nearly 20-year-long concert career Yesipova impressed everyone
with her unrelenting stamina. Sometimes a concert lasted 4 hours. She could
give two piano concerts in the company of an orchestra and a solo concert
of Beethoven's works - all in one evening. Even at the present time of
high velocities and the so-called strength pianism few male pianists would
break a record set by this indomitable woman. Yesipova's repertoire ranged
from Mozart and Beethoven to Schuman, Liszt, Rubinshtein and Arensky. She
entranced everyone with her filigree performance of Chopin. The well-known
Polish pianist Josef Hofmann once remarked: "I should go to Yesipova
to learn to play Chopin's mazurkas".
In 1893 she was offered professorship at the St.-Petersburg Conservatory.
Among her students was Sergei Prokofiev. The aesthetic gap between them
was enormous. To Prokofiev, who favored an entirely different approach
to music, Yesipova's demands seemed hopelessly outdated. Nevertheless,
her influence on the formation of Prokofiev's technique as well as on the
Russian piano school in general is beyond dispute.
Unfortunately, today we can judge Yesipova's performance exclusively
from the reminiscences left by her contemporaries and critics and from
a few recordings made with the help of a special device Welte-Mignon in
1906 .
13 February 2001
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