Within Tomoff’s piece on the International Tchaikovsky Competition, the internal composition of the competition reveals the amount of detail and attention paid to ensure the success of the competition, but also the reputation of Soviet music culture as a whole. It emphasizes the importance of Soviet-composed music, its musicians, and their abilities to dominate the international performance stage in a time where Soviet progress continued to develop. However, the bureaucracy surrounding the planning of the competition also shows that the competition was an expression of the fine arts, but also served as a propaganda technique for the Soviet to further flaunt its achievements. The focus on delivering a competition that the Soviet competitors would thrive in, choosing only those worthy enough of competing, and re-vitalizing music programs throughout the Soviet Union afterwards showed the commitment to upholding their superiority in the music world.
Referring to the re-vitalization process created after the first Tchaikovsky competition, the revelations made by the Soviets in this time period indicated the main difference between their competitors and their Western counterparts: individual style that gave the musician their own identity, even when performing the same compositions in performances. The Soviet’s performers dominated in terms of technical performance, but lacked in the ability to create a unique style individual to each musician. The re-vitalization efforts focused on this issue, but still emphasized the importance of technical ability to ensure wins in international music competitions. With this in mind, how does this key difference also relate to other aspects of the differing experiences within the East and West? Does it make sense that the Soviets dominated in technical performance, but lacked individual style as they noted? How might this affect the Soviet music culture as a whole?
I think that it fits that the Soviets dominated in technical execution over a unique sound. As, if they really want to win and prove nationally and on a global scale that they are the best in music perfecting in technique seems to be the best way to guarantee this. Moreover, the fact that they amped up the study of music and so forth within the USSR seems to support this idea that they aren’t just supporting music because its’s culturally important, but because it could give them recognition and another win over the West. Which, I think probably makes really talented musicians but musicians that cease to create new music.
Considering Oistrakh’s performance of Tchaikovsky, it is clear that the Soviet sound is dictated by dedication to rehearsal and perfection in execution. When listening to his performance, the notes I took include “highlights the Russian commitment to perfection” and “clearly a well-practiced musician.” It seems as if my notes on this later performance line up with those of the competition judges, who as you mentioned noted a Soviet superiority in technical execution but a lacking of individual style present in the West. I believe this highlights the nature of Soviet conservatories and the way Russian musicians are trained. Like Russian ballet dancers or Olympic athletes, perfection is the goal rather than freedom of expression. While I wouldn’t say one method is better than the other, this is a key difference in Soviet/Russian music culture compared to Western music culture.
To me, these criticisms by the judges also point to the need to hold a Tchaikovsky competition in the first place rather than celebrate the new Soviet composers. While it is without a doubt that Soviet composers were capable of making music considering the success of Shostakovich and Prokofiev, this music would not be appealing to a large crowd. Simply put, Tchaikovsky is celebrated internationally and has a sound that is always pleasing to the ear. However, new Soviet music was experimental in tonalities and keys and often times lacked a true melody, making it not the best choice for a competition in the eyes of the Soviet Union who sought to gain a feeling of superiority and recognition in the eyes of the West.