Association for Contemporary Music (ACM) (russian: ACM - Ассоциация Современной Музыки, ''ASM - Assotsiatsiya Sovremennoy Muzyki'') was an alternative organization of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

s interested in

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

music. It was founded by

Nikolai Roslavets Nikolai Andreevich Roslavets (russian: link=no, Никола́й Андре́евич Ро́славец; in Surazh, Chernigov Governorate, Russian Empire – 23 August 1944 in Moscow) was a significant Ukrainian modernist composer of Beloruss ...

in 1923. ACM ran concert series and published magazines promoting the modernist music of

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

, Schoenberg,

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states *Berg (state), county and duchy of the Holy ...

Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...

, Krenek, and

Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

, as well as the work of its members. Its leading members were

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

Nikolai Myaskovsky Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky or Miaskovsky or Miaskowsky (russian: Никола́й Я́ковлевич Мяско́вский; pl, Mikołaj Miąskowski, syn Jakóbowy; 20 April 18818 August 1950), was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is som ...

Vissarion Shebalin Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin (russian: Виссарио́н Я́ковлевич Шебали́н; 29 May 1963) was a Soviet composer. Biography Shebalin was born in Omsk, where his parents were school teachers. He studied in the musical colle ...

Alexander Mosolov Alexander Vasilyevich MosolovMosolov's name is transliterated variously and inconsistently between sources. Alternative spellings of Alexander include Alexandr, Aleksandr, Aleksander, and Alexandre; variations on Mosolov include Mossolov and Mossol ...

, Gavriil Popov, and

Vladimir Shcherbachev Vladimir Vladimirovich Shcherbachov (Shcherbachyov, Shcherbachev) (russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Щербачёв; 24 January 1889, in Warsaw – 5 March 1952, in Leningrad) was a Soviet composer. He studied with Maximil ...

. The organization's enthusiasm for avant-garde Western music and for experimentation met with opposition from the

Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians The Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians or RAPM (russian: Российская Ассоциация Пролетарских Музыкантов, РАПМ ) was a musicians' creative union of the early Soviet period. It was founded in Ju ...

(RAPM), which by the late 1920s had eclipsed the ACM in terms of cultural influence. ASM was formally disbanded in 1931, whereas RAPM existed until 23 April 1932, when it was abolished by the Decree on the Reformation of Literary and Artistic Organizations.''Music for the Revolution'', p.242 Russia's New ACM (or ACM-2), the revival of the previous organization, was established in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in 1990. Its chairman was composer

Edison Denisov Edison Vasilievich Denisov (russian: Эдисо́н Васи́льевич Дени́сов, 6 April 1929 – 24 November 1996) was a Russian composer in the so-called "Underground", "alternative" or "nonconformist" division of Soviet music. B ...

. The co-founders of the new ACM were

Elena Firsova Elena Olegovna Firsova (russian: link=no, Еле́на Оле́говна Фи́рсова; also ''Yelena'' or ''Jelena Firssowa''; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian composer. Life Firsova was born in Leningrad into the family of physicists Ol ...

, Dmitri Smirnov, and

Nikolai Korndorf Nikolai Sergeevich Korndorf (russian: Николáй Серге́евич Корндóрф, January 23, 1947 – May 30, 2001) was a Russian and Canadian (from 1991) composer and conductor. He was prolific both in Moscow, Russia, and in Vancouve ...

. Its members included

Leonid Hrabovsky Leonid Oleksandrovych Hrabovsky (also Hrabovsky or Hrabovs'ky, uk, Леонід Олександрович Грабо́вський; russian: Леони́д Алекса́ндрович Грабо́вский, ''Leonid Alexandrovitch Grabovsky ...

Alexander Knaifel Alexander Aronovich Knaifel (russian: Алекса́ндр Аро́нович Кна́йфель; also ''Knayfel'', ''Knayfel'', or ''Kneifel''; born 28 November 1943 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan) is a Russian composer known for his operas ''The Gho ...

Sergei Pavlenko Sergei Pavlenko (born 1953) is a portrait painter of Russian origin and now based in Britain. Biography Pavlenko graduated in Painting from St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts in 1988. He studied under Boris Ugarov, President of the Academy of ...

Alexander Voustin Alexander Kuzmich Vustin, also Voustin or Wustin (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Кузьми́ч Ву́стин, 24 April 1943 – 19 April 2020) was a Russian composer. His works, including the opera '' The Devil in Love'', were played ...

Vladislav Shoot Vladislav Shoot (russian: link=no, Владислав Алексеевич Шуть, ''Vladislav Alekseyevich Shut' '' (also spelled Chout, Schut, Sciut, Shut or Szut); 3 March 1941 – 9 March 2022) was a Russian-British composer of contemporar ...

Viktor Yekimovsky The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

Faraj Karayev Faraj is a name of Arabic origins, found in many locations including in Kuwait, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, Iran, and others. The name derived from Arabic meaning "joy after sadness", and can also hold the meaning "to cur ...

Vyacheslav Artyomov Vyacheslav Petrovich Artyomov (russian: Вячесла́в Петро́вич Артё́мов, link=no; born on June 29, 1940, in Moscow) is a Russian and Soviet Union, Soviet composer. Biography Artyomov was preparing to become a physicist, s ...

Vladimir Tarnopolsky Vladimir Grigoryevich Tarnopolsky (russian: Влади́мир Григо́рьевич Тарнопо́льский, born April 30, 1955 in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR) is a Russian composer. Biography Tarnopolsky studied composition at the ...

Alexander Raskatov Alexander Mikhailovich Raskatov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Раска́тов; born 9 March 1953, in Moscow) is a Russian composer. Life Alexander Raskatovs father was a leading journalist of the magazine ''Krokodil'', h ...

, Ivan Sokolov, and

Yuri Kasparov Yuri Sergeyevich Kasparov (born 8 June 1955, in Moscow, russian: link=no, Юрий Серге́евич Каспа́ров—his name is variously transliterated) is a Russian composer, music teacher and a professor at the Moscow Conservatory wh ...

. Eminent composers like Sofia Gubaidulina,

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (russian: Альфре́д Га́рриевич Шни́тке, link=no, Alfred Garriyevich Shnitke; 24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer of Jewish-German descent. Among the most performed and re ...

Valentin Silvestrov Valentyn Vasylyovych Sylvestrov ( uk, Валенти́н Васи́льович Сильве́стров; born 30 September 1937) is a Ukrainian composer and pianist, who plays and writes contemporary classical music. Biography Valentyn Vasylyo ...

, and

Tigran Mansuryan , native_name_lang = , birth_name = Tigran Yeghiayi Mansurian , alias = , birth_date = , birth_place = Beirut, Greater Lebanon , origin = Armenian SSR , death_date = , death_place = , gen ...

were invited to join the ACM. ACM became affiliated with the

International Society for Contemporary Music The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music. The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...

(ISCM). After the collapse of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in 1991, many members of the ACM emigrated to the West, and Denisov died in 1996. The ACM was split into two parts. One, based in the

Union of Composers Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and led by Victor Yekimovsky, adopted the title "Russian National Section, the International Society for Contemporary Music" (RNS-ISCM); it supported the "Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble". The other, based in the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

and led by

, took the name "Centre for Contemporary Music, Moscow" (CCMM). CCMM was the ISCM Associate Member, and supported the "Studio of New Music".

References

* Nelson, Amy (2004). ''Music for the Revolution: Musicians and Power in Early Soviet Russia''. Pennsylvania State University Press. * Faiclough, Pauline (2006). ''A Soviet Credo: Shostakovich's Fourth Symphony''. Ashgate.

Notes

External links

Association News of Contemporary Music Union-SPBCCMM page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Association For Contemporary Music Modernism (music) Music organizations based in Russia