![Ilja Jefimowitsch Repin 012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Ilja_Jefimowitsch_Repin_012.jpg)
Vladimir Vasilievich
Stasov (also Stassov; rus, Влади́мир Васи́льевич Ста́сов; 14 January
O.S._2_January.html" ;"title="Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe">O.S. 2 January">Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe">O.S. 2 January/small> 1824 – 23 October .S. 10 October/small> 1906), was a Russian critic
A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...
of music and art. Born into a wealthy, noble family Stasov became a prominent figure in mid-19th-century Russian culture. He discovered a large number of its greatest talents, inspired many of their works and fought their battles in numerous articles and letters to the press. As such, he carried on a lifelong debate with Russian novelist and playwright Ivan Turgenev
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...
, who considered Stasov "our great all-Russian critic." He wanted Russian art to liberate itself from what he saw as Europe's hold. By copying the west, he felt, Russian artists could be, at best, second-rate. However, by borrowing from their own native traditions, they might create a truly national art that could match Europe's with its high artistic standards and originality. By "national" Stasov meant an art that would not only portray people's lives but also be meaningful to them and show them how to live.
Early life and education
The son of a famous 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 ...
n architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
Vasily Petrovich Stasov (1769–1848), Vladimir Stasov was born in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
on 14 January O.S._2_January.html" ;"title="Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe">O.S. 2 January">Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe">O.S. 2 January/small> 1824. He graduated from the School of Jurisprudence in 1843, was admitted to the Imperial Academy of Arts in 1859, and was made honorary fellow of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1900, together with his friend Leo Tolstoy.
Career
Building "The Five"
In 1847, Stasov published a monograph
A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject.
In library cataloging, ''monograph ...
on Mikhail Glinka
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka ( rus, link=no, Михаил Иванович Глинка, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka., mʲɪxɐˈil ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲinkə, Ru-Mikhail-Ivanovich-Glinka.ogg; ) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recogni ...
's use of folk motifs in his music; from that time, Stasov advocated Russianness over European influence in music. In the years which followed he served as an elder adviser to the group of Russian composers known as " The Five". He also warmed to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
after hearing the composer play the finale of his ''Little Russian'' Symphony at a Christmas 1872 gathering at Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...
's home. Shortly after this gathering, Stasov prompted Tchaikovsky to write a piece based on Shakespeare's ''The Tempest''. He also drafted a program, initially for Hector Berlioz
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
, that Tchaikovsky eventually used for his Manfred Symphony
''Manfred'' is a ''"Symphony in Four Scenes"'' in B minor by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, his Opus 58, but unnumbered. It was written between May and September 1885 to a program based upon the eponymous 1817 poem by Byron, coming after the composer' ...
. In between those two works, Stasov suggested an opera based on Alfred de Vigny
Alfred Victor, Comte de Vigny (27 March 1797 – 17 September 1863) was a French poet and early French Romanticist. He also produced novels, plays, and translations of Shakespeare.
Biography
Vigny was born in Loches (a town to which he never r ...
's historical romance ''Cinq-Mars''. Tchaikovsky was then intent on writing ''Eugene Onegin
''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is a novel in verse written by Ale ...
'', and Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...
had already written an opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
based on ''Cinq-Mars''.
Repin and the Peredvizhniki
Beginning in the 1870s, Stasov ardently supported the realistic painters known as Peredvizhniki
Peredvizhniki ( rus, Передви́жники, , pʲɪrʲɪˈdvʲiʐnʲɪkʲɪ), often called The Wanderers or The Itinerants in English, were a group of Russian realist artists who formed an artists' cooperative in protest of academic restr ...
as well as Ilya Repin
Ilya Yefimovich Repin (russian: Илья Ефимович Репин, translit=Il'ya Yefimovich Repin, p=ˈrʲepʲɪn); fi, Ilja Jefimovitš Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is now Ukraine. He became one of the ...
.
Intolerant of difference
When artists did not follow his precepts, Stasov could become both intolerant and vocal. Stasov called the finale of Tchaikovsky's ''Little Russian'' symphony "one of the most important creations of the whole Russian school." Otherwise, his overall verdict on Tchaikovsky's work was negative: "The Conservatoire, academic training, eclecticism and overworking of musical materials laid its dread, destructive hand on him. Of his total output, a few works Romeo_and_Juliet_
''Romeo_and_Juliet''_is_a_Shakespearean_tragedy,_tragedy_written_by_William_Shakespeare_early_in_his_career_about_the_romance_between_two_Italian_youths_from_feuding_families._It_was_among_Shakespeare's_most_popular_plays_during_his_lifetim_...
'',_''Romeo_and_Juliet_
''Romeo_and_Juliet''_is_a_Shakespearean_tragedy,_tragedy_written_by_William_Shakespeare_early_in_his_career_about_the_romance_between_two_Italian_youths_from_feuding_families._It_was_among_Shakespeare's_most_popular_plays_during_his_lifetim_...
'',_''The_Tempest_(Tchaikovsky)">The_Tempest'',_''Francesca_da_Rimini_(Tchaikovsky).html" "title="The_Tempest_(Tchaikovsky).html" ;"title="Romeo_and_Juliet_(Tchaikovsky).html" "title="'Romeo and Juliet (Tchaikovsky)">Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'', ''The Tempest (Tchaikovsky)">The Tempest'', ''Francesca da Rimini (Tchaikovsky)">Francesca da Rimini