Goldstein Mikhail Emanuilovich

Goldstein Mikhail Emanuilovich

Main article: Music in Russia in the XVIII century

Hoax of Ovsyanniko-Kulikovsky Opera

"The recently opened work of the Ukrainian composer Ovsyanniko-Kulikovsky," who lived in the 18th century - Symphony No. 21 - triumphantly parades around the country, performing the best orchestras, even the Leningrad Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yevgeny Mravinsky made its recording, then only reaching the world level. Numerous musicologists write their works and enthusiastic reviews of the newly discovered genius of Ukrainian music.

It all started a little earlier, but first let me introduce the real hero of this article - Mikhail Emanuilovich Goldstein, composer, violinist and the very person who "opened" Symphony No. 21 to the world! And it so happened that his talent as a composer was not in demand at that time, the campaign of the fight against cosmopolitanism, launched in 1947, was partly to blame, as a result, "enemies of the people" were found everywhere, by coincidence, "rootless cosmopolitans" turned out to be most often Jews... So Goldstein, bringing his works, often heard: "You are a talented person, but these works will not go anywhere, because...."

Friends, consoling advised: "And write you, a symphony in the Ukrainian style, on Ukrainian folk themes, orchestra it under Mozart or something like that, there at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries, and tear their nose!"

Then Misha decided on a brilliant scam, if the country needs composers of a popular direction, then they will receive it! And he set about the symphony... Something helped him Isaac Dunaevsky, his friend, namely, suggested the theme of his song "Oh, viburnum blooms" for one of the parts of the future symphony.

Goldstein wrote the music, and at the same time came up with a biography for the "author." It was Nikolai Ovsyanniko-Kulikovsky, a mythical graphoman-landowner, a very enlightened music lover who once presented his serf orchestra to the Odessa Opera House (this is perhaps the only fact confirming the existence of this "composer").

The score, allegedly found in the archive of the opera house, was presented to the head of the Odessa Philharmonic, when asked what the symphony was by number, Goldstein answered without hesitation: "Twenty-first..." and everything turned around!

Soon the symphony was played already in Moscow, it became the most performed work of the 1950s, all musicologists were delighted, such a treasure! Previously unknown composer Ovsyanniko-Kulikovsky, author of 21 symphonies, was called almost "Ukrainian Mozart," at least equal to the Vienna classics. This discovery came in handy, because then the theory of Russian influence on the development of Western music was popular, and here such a confirmation. In short, the work perfectly fit into the cultural policy of that time, [1] Novaya Gazeta told.

Goldstein did not think that no one would understand anything, because there were so many "bloopers" in the score, much could not have been written at the beginning of the 19th century, and even Dunaevsky's melody, adopted as folk, because they still took his word for it, as "the discoverer," and did not even ask the original manuscript....

According to the urgent requirements of the musicologist Valerian Dovzhenko, who published an article about Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky and intended to write a book, Goldstein even came up with a slightly more detailed biography for the composer - in particular, the years of his life (1768-1846). An article about Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky was included in the second edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.

Mikhail tried to confess everything, but at the beginning they did not believe him, after such a hype, after many musicologists had already defended their dissertations on this topic, and Muzgiz released notes, it was difficult to admit that the author of the classical Ukrainian symphony of classical Ukrainian music was some Jewish musician from Odessa.

Later in the 1960s, they reached the truth and... before the search and confrontation with the Odessa horn player, who once rewrote the notes of the symphony, which finally resolved everything, Goldstein proved his authorship, and the investigation stalled due to the savagery of this situation.

And Ovsyanniko-Kulikovsky was safely forgotten, articles from TSB were removed, music from the repertoire also disappeared, Melody destroyed records... as if nothing had happened. And how the assessments of the work have changed - from delight to complete derogation.

M. Goldstein writes in his memoirs: "At one time, this symphony was considered a brilliant work, a genuine treasury of classics, a high example of symphonism. But when it turned out that Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky did not compose it at all, then she ceased to be brilliant. "

Interestingly, Goldstein is the author of several more "works of Russian classics": an alto concert, Handoshkina sonatas for Borodin's cello, "Leaflet" from Glazunov's album and Balakirev's "Impromptu."