Discussion Group: Alan Bush, the Soviet Union and Music in Britain in the 1936
Part of the Britain and the Soviet Union: Early Cultural Encounters Network events
Wednesday 1 November 2023, 1-2pm
Register via Eventbrite.
Our discussion group this term focuses on Soviet influences on music in Britain in the 1930s, focusing particularly on composer and communist Alan Bush (1900-1995) and his work with choirs and working-class organisations. We examine two documents from 1936: firstly, a review of a concert performance of Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District which took place on 18 March 1936 at the Queen’s Hall, London; secondly, an unpublished article by Alan Bush outlining his aesthetics and practice of workers’ music. We will discuss the extent to which British artists were properly aware of fast-moving developments in the Soviet Union, and how Soviet influences shaped performance practice as much – if not more – than composition.
Readings may be downloaded from the link below, but everyone is welcome to attend whether they have had time to read the materials or not.
Reading 1: Excerpt from Alan Bush, ‘Planning a Workers’ Music Festival’ (1936 - Never published)
Reading 2: James Findlay Hendry, ‘[Review of] Lady Macbeth of Mzensk’ Left Review 2/6 (March 1936), 272-3.
Lunch will be provided.
Britain and the Soviet Union: Early Cultural Encounters Network, TORCH Networks
