‘Discovering the piano works of Russian composer Valentina Serova (1846–1924)’

In his review of Valentina Semyonovna Serova’s ‘Nine illustrations for piano based on stories by L. Tolstoy’, the critic M. Dyukurov noted that ‘Reading these illustrations gave us the greatest pleasure, although, of course, not all of them are of equal merit.’ Given the work’s basis on a literary narrative, the reviewer’s main preoccupation became the music’s ability to conjure extramusical images. Such assessments of music were commonplace following the writings on aesthetics by Austrian music critic Eduard Hanslick, which constituted the list of texts consulted on musical thought in nineteenth-century Russia.

Serova herself had, since the early years of her musical training, sought to decipher music’s signification beyond tones and notes on paper. This would explain her making opera her main compositional domain; whilst she had ostensibly composed several piano pieces, her substantial output consisted of both her and her late husband Alexander Serov’s operatic works.

This lecture-recital explores the life and works of Valentina Serova, a prolific musical figure who has largely been written into obscurity. In particular, it will touch on the married life of the Serovs, their intellectual and artistic circle, and preoccupations of the widowed Serova. The works that will be discussed include the aforementioned piano illustrations and a suite of piano pieces compiled by Serova based on sketches for Serov’s unfinished opera Christmas Eve (an opera on Nikolai Gogol’s story of the same name).

The lecture is informed by Nicholas Ong’s doctoral project at the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Music, which aims to (re)introduce Serova into the narrative of music in nineteenth-century Russia. Whilst recent scholarship and performance has sought to restore the legacy of women in the history of Western art music – to the extent that one could claim familiarity with the music of Clara Schumann and Fanny Hensel – research on the relevant figures of nineteenth-century Russia remain in its early stages.

Come to this Cambridge Festival event to learn about the socio-political and personal events that impacted Russia’s musical world and Serova’s life, and to experience the piano works which have (possibly) never been publicly performed beyond the territories of the Russian Empire!

Keywords: women, classical music, piano, nineteenth-century, Russia, Russian literature