M. Linnik

R. Genika as a correspondent of the «Russian musical journal» in Kharkov (reviews of chamber and symphonic meetings, 1896–1916)

The article deals with the work of Kharkov’s outstanding musician R. Genika (1869–1939) as a correspondent of the «Russian Musical Journal» in Kharkov. Basing on the summary of the archival materials (16 items have been selected out of about 100) it shows one of the sides of R. Genika’s activity as a music reviewer which is connected with chamber and symphonic meetings in Kharkov in late the XIXth – first decades of the XXth centuries. The article not only reveals the general idea and the repertoire of concerts through the prism of R. Genika’s reviews, but also reflects a creative portrait of the critic himself, whose works lively engrave some essential features of the general picture of music in Kharkov (R. Genika’s reviews were published in the «RMJ» under the heading «Music in province»). Being a fully-educated musician, a graduate of Moscow Conservatoire under N. Rubinstein (piano) and P. Tchaikovsky (music theory and composition), R. Genika appears in his critical judgments as a leading figure of musical culture of his time who upheld the principles of high artistry and genuine skill as the main criteria of music art. For R. Genika the best example of it were not only the masterpieces of West-European classical music, but also, and primarily, high achievements of national music.

Key words

R. Genika, the «Russian Musical Journal », musical criticism, the genre of review, musical life, Kharkov at the turn of the XIXth and the XXth centuries, chamber and symphonic meetings.

• Read full article