Antonina Maksimova

“Can a Leopard Change His Spots?”: The American Composers’ Fortunes in Nicolas Slonimsky’s Letters to Vladimir Dukelsky

This article is written in Russian. You can read it here.

References

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DOI 10.34690/26

Author Antonina S. Maksimova

Affiliation Glazunov Petrozavodsk State Conservatory, Petrozavodsk, Russia

Email x-tonik@mail.ru

ORCID

0000-0001-9584-414X

Abstract

The research material of the article comprise Nicolas Slonimsky’s letters to Vladimir Dukelsky from the Vernon Duke Collection of the Library of Congress (USA). Large fragments from the letters of 1937 to 1969 which contain Slonimsky’s thoughts on the 20th century music are being quoted for the first time. The author briefly observes the history of the two musicians’ acquaintance (1918) and contacts. The correspondence selected for the article embraces such topics as: the profession of composer in the USA, arrangements between composers and conductors, and a problem of public success. The article also contains some details on Slonimsky’s visit to the USSR.

Keywords American music, Nicolas Slonimsky, Vladimir Dukelsky (Vernon Duke), correspondence, American composers of the 20th century

For citation

Maksimova, A. S. “‘Can a Leopard Change His Spots?’: The American Composers’ Fortunes in Nicolas Slonimsky’s Letters to Vladimir Dukelsky” Muzykal’naya akademiya [Music Academy], 2019, no. 4, pp. 170–189, doi:10.34690/26. (In Russ.)

Acknowledgments

Kay Duke Ingalls, Vernon Duke’s widow, for sharing her memories and for permission of access to Vernon Duke’s archives; Electra Slonimsky Yourke, Nicolas Slonimsky’s daughter, for kind permission to quote Nicolas Slonimsky’s letters; Professor Vera Nilova for the idea of the article’s title; Raúl Romero for his help in search of the number of magazine “Nuestra Musica.”