Cultural fusion in piano compositions by composers who immigrated to Israel from the Soviet Union and the former Soviet Union

Goodman, B. (2025) Cultural fusion in piano compositions by composers who immigrated to Israel from the Soviet Union and the former Soviet Union. Doctoral thesis, Royal College of Music.

Abstract

This research investigated the way the motivation of composers who immigrated to Israel from the Soviet Union and the former Soviet Union influenced their compositional styles. It focused on eight composers who immigrated in two periods: Mark Kopytman, Lev Kogan, and Joseph Dorfman, who immigrated in the 1970s; and Josef Bardanashvili, Benjamin Yusupov, Emanuel Vahl, Irena Svetova, and Oleg Bogod, who immigrated in the 1990s. Detailed biographical information is provided for each composer, much of which is original. Earlier sociological research maintained that immigration in these two periods was driven by different motivations: in the 1970s because of ideological aspirations, and in the 1990s due to the economic collapse of the former Soviet Union. However, interviews, archival material, and examination of their solo piano compositions revealed that all the composers were driven by ideological motivations related to their Jewish identity. Piano works were examined before and post-immigration, and a significant increase in the incorporation of Jewish musical motifs was discovered and this reflected the composers’ newfound freedom of expression in Israel. Furthermore, these compositions exhibited diverse cultural fusion. To help identify the various musical motifs, I used a unique method of practice research, known as “think aloud”, while preparing the solo piano works for performance. A chapter is devoted to the foundations of Jewish and Israeli art music, and another focuses on Jewish composers and Jewish art music’s development in the Soviet Union. These chapters provide the historical context for the composers and compositions examined in this work. The influence of the Russian nationalist composers, “The Five”, in the creation of Jewish art music, and the establishment of the St Petersburg Society for Jewish Folk Music is discussed. A chapter is devoted to Musorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, a work of considerable significance in the development of Jewish art music.

Actions (login required)

View Item