Music of the Revolution / Revolutionary Music
In sound and on stage, one of the most enduring legacies of the 1917 Russian Revolution was the development and dissemination of folk orchestras—literally, orchestral ensembles modeled on the western European symphony but comprised of modified traditional instruments. These orchestras and their choral analogues became emblematic of musical socialism: new, modern but culturally distinctive performance vehicles for the new socialist states. Drawing upon the University of Illinois’s unique archival resources, this exhibit demonstrates the history, dispersal, and overall legacy of the Soviet folk orchestra in Russia and other parts of eastern Europe and Eurasia through displays of representative instruments, photographs, scores, and recordings. Central to the exhibit are instruments and ephemera associated with UI’s own Russian Folk Orchestra, established in the 1970s by the late professor emeritus of jazz John Garvey (1921-2006). The Illinois RFO is one of a handful founded at midwestern institutions during the late twentieth century; its presence on this campus is an indirect outgrowth of the cultural policies and exchanges triggered by the October Revolution, and an exclusive aspect the University’s history and longtime, internationally renowned, scholarly and artistic engagement with the Russian, eastern European, and Eurasian region.
“From Russia with Love:” John Garvey’s Russian Folk Orchestra, Sousa Archives and Center for American Music, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, October 12, 2017 – September 3, 2018.
The University of Illinois Russian Folk Orchestra was founded in 1974 by John Garvey, who had joined the University’s Walden String Quartet in 1948 as its violist and in 1959 established the university’s jazz band program. In 1969, the jazz band toured the Soviet Union as part of the State Department’s cultural exchange program, and Garvey developed a keen interest in Russian folk music. He later returned to the USSR to study Russian folk music traditions and purchased additional folk instruments that he used to establish the Illinois Russian Folk Orchestra. The Illinois ensemble eventually served as a model for other American universities’ Russian folk orchestras by providing open depoliticized educational spaces for students to pursue their interest in Russian folk music traditions. This exhibit of folk instruments, photographs, and music provides visitors with a general introduction to Russian folk music traditions and culture that were promoted by the Soviet Union after the Russian Revolution and the folk musicians who immigrated to the United States after WWII. It also acknowledges many of the talented musicians who performed with the University of Illinois’ Russian Folk Orchestra under Garvey’s direction between 1974 and 1989 and reveals a forgotten part of the University of Illinois’ musical past.
Sousa and Tsar Nicholas II’s Birthday: An Unexpected Tour Adventure, Sousa Archives and Center for American Music, University of Illinois, August 21, 2017 – August 6, 2018.
The Russian imperial capital of St. Petersburg was a major stop during John Philip Sousa’s 1903 tour of Europe. Sousa planned his St. Petersburg performances to coincide with the tsar’s birthday and the bicentennial of the city’s founding, and anticipated large audiences for these concerts because the band had never before played in Russia. What resulted, however, was a misadventure. The concerts occurred at the beginning of Russia’s annual summer vacation when most theaters and concerts halls were closed. In addition Russian music critics’ responses to his music was tepid. Sousa was intimidated by the extensive advertising throughout the city for what he initially believed to be his music rival Суза, but eventually discovered that this was the Russian spelling of his own name. While the St. Petersburg performances were not well attended, the concerts did spark deep patriotism among the American diplomats who were able to attend and the Russian aristocracy and military enthusiastically received the Sousa Band’s renditions of the Imperial Russian and American national anthems. This exhibit of photographs, music, newspaper reviews, and political cartoons document Russian perceptions of America and Sousa’s music at the beginning of the twentieth century.
April 5, 2018: Music of the Revolution Concert. More information on tickets to be available soon.
“From Russia with Love:” John Garvey’s Russian Folk Orchestra, Sousa Archives and Center for American Music, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, October 12, 2017 – September 3, 2018.
The University of Illinois Russian Folk Orchestra was founded in 1974 by John Garvey, who had joined the University’s Walden String Quartet in 1948 as its violist and in 1959 established the university’s jazz band program. In 1969, the jazz band toured the Soviet Union as part of the State Department’s cultural exchange program, and Garvey developed a keen interest in Russian folk music. He later returned to the USSR to study Russian folk music traditions and purchased additional folk instruments that he used to establish the Illinois Russian Folk Orchestra. The Illinois ensemble eventually served as a model for other American universities’ Russian folk orchestras by providing open depoliticized educational spaces for students to pursue their interest in Russian folk music traditions. This exhibit of folk instruments, photographs, and music provides visitors with a general introduction to Russian folk music traditions and culture that were promoted by the Soviet Union after the Russian Revolution and the folk musicians who immigrated to the United States after WWII. It also acknowledges many of the talented musicians who performed with the University of Illinois’ Russian Folk Orchestra under Garvey’s direction between 1974 and 1989 and reveals a forgotten part of the University of Illinois’ musical past.
Sousa and Tsar Nicholas II’s Birthday: An Unexpected Tour Adventure, Sousa Archives and Center for American Music, University of Illinois, August 21, 2017 – August 6, 2018.
The Russian imperial capital of St. Petersburg was a major stop during John Philip Sousa’s 1903 tour of Europe. Sousa planned his St. Petersburg performances to coincide with the tsar’s birthday and the bicentennial of the city’s founding, and anticipated large audiences for these concerts because the band had never before played in Russia. What resulted, however, was a misadventure. The concerts occurred at the beginning of Russia’s annual summer vacation when most theaters and concerts halls were closed. In addition Russian music critics’ responses to his music was tepid. Sousa was intimidated by the extensive advertising throughout the city for what he initially believed to be his music rival Суза, but eventually discovered that this was the Russian spelling of his own name. While the St. Petersburg performances were not well attended, the concerts did spark deep patriotism among the American diplomats who were able to attend and the Russian aristocracy and military enthusiastically received the Sousa Band’s renditions of the Imperial Russian and American national anthems. This exhibit of photographs, music, newspaper reviews, and political cartoons document Russian perceptions of America and Sousa’s music at the beginning of the twentieth century.
April 5, 2018: Music of the Revolution Concert. More information on tickets to be available soon.