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EnV. Leonov, I. Palkina
From chamber ensembles to quartet assemblies (Rostov-on-Don, the 19th – early 20th centuries)
Rostov-on-Don, founded in 1749, experienced many vicissitudes of fate in the first 100 years of its existence and was an ordinary town in the backwoods of the Russian Empire. The favorable geographical location for entrepreneurship contributed to the growth of the urban economy in the second half of the 19th century. Industrial production developed in Rostov, which required educated specialists, including foreigners: the population became multinational and multi-confessional.
It is shown that there was no cultural isolation of national communities in the city, therefore, the musical society founded in Rostov-on-Don was international: Posokhova, Mathieu, Renieri, Yandel, Skrobetsky, etc. It was revealed that at the beginning of the existence of the mentioned public association, its concert activity presupposed the obligatory participation of touring musicians, as it was with the pianist N. Rubinstein or the singer A. Gridiger.
The evolution of the Rostov Musical Society in the field of instrumental performance is highlighted. From the mid-1880s professional musicians of Rostov began to take part in concerts. Amateur performers gradually cease to dominate the stage.
In the mid-1890s, chamber instrumental concerts in Rostov began to be called quartet assemblies, regardless of whether the string quartet participated in this event. The Rostov Musical Society was transformed into the Rostov Branch of the Russian Musical Society. It held six quartet assemblies per season only by professional performers. The opening of a music college in the city also contributed to the professionalization of musical life. Amateur performers could take part in the music club of railway employees.
Key words
Rostov Musical Society, amateurs’ playing music, instrumental concerts, quartet assemblies, Imperial Russian Musical Society.
For citation
Leonov V., Palkina I. From chamber ensembles to quartet assemblies (Rostov-on-Don, the 19th – early 20th centuries) // South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2023. No. 3. Pp. 5-12.
