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The Beauty of Belaieff Richard Beattie Davis 368 Pages in Full Colour l Large Format (280mm x 220mm) 143 Full Page Colour Plates l Fully Annotated Throughout Extensive Individual Bibliographies l Composer Chronology Full List of Works l Comprehensive Index l Hardback + Dustjacket
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The
printing, editing and scholarly research is both stylish and beautiful but,
above all, it is the obvious love and enthusiasm that is to be found on
every page for this remarkable figure, often sadly neglected, that makes it
such a special book. I love Russian music from that period and have many of
those colourful title pages in my collection which I always fondly show to
admiring friends whenever the music is taken off the shelves before being
played. Now I am able to learn more about their origins.
This lavishly produced tome takes as its starting point 143
sumptuous, full page colour plates of title pages from Russian music
publisher Mitrofan Belaieff. These plates are the fruits of the
indefatigable collector and Russophile musicologist Richard Beattie Davis.
Here is a work of real scholarship and research, and a valuable, not
to mention highly decorative, addition to the bookshelf of any serious
enthusiast of Russian music and music publishing
I consider Richard Beattie Davis's book "The Beauty of Belaieff" a great contribution to the history of the Russian Musical Culture. Ittestifies to its author's great knowledge and, most important, of hislove of the Russian Art, both musical as well as visual. Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Conductor of many of the world's most famous orchestras, and for more than thirty years, .Chair of Conducting at the Moscow Conservatoire, Maestro Rozhdestvensky regularly leads master-classes in various countries I want to express my gratitude for what Richard has done for Russian music!.. We will all miss and remember him. Vladimir Jurowski. Music Director of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera; Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra; Principal guest conductor of the Russian National Orchestra “The Beauty of Belaieff” is a history of an outstanding music publisher during one of the most fascinating eras in Russian music. The history is recreated from numerous original editions of operas, orchestral works, piano, and chamber music by the well-known, lesser known, and often forgotten composers. The format of the book, full of exquisite reproductions of title pages, serves the purpose of not only making public the invaluable materials, but, most importantly, making them "talk and sound," and to bring into spotlight the full palette of the work of the remarkable publisher. The book is based on an immensely rich collection of Belaieff's first editions, some of which I have been privileged to see -- Richard Beattie Davis has spent decades meticulously gathering, preserving, and researching this collection, and it has no comparisons anywhere in the world, including Russia. Elena Sorokina, Pianist, Musicologist, Professor, Head of the Russian Music History Program, Vice-President of the Moscow Conservatory. This is one of the most sumptuous and magnificent books ever
issued about the activities of a music publisher. It includes spectacular
full-page colour reproductions of the elaborate decorative title pages with
which Belaieff liked to adorn his editions of works by Russian composers
such as Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Glazunov, Tchaikovsky, Taneyev and
countless others. But The Beauty of Belaieff is much more than a glorious
picture book. Richard Beattie Davis was the leading authority on the firm's
activities, and his book contains a wealth of bibliographical detail,
including information about plate numbers, and also valuable comments on
music itself.
Richard Beattie Davis' long-awaited 'The Beauty of Belaieff' is a wide-ranging study of music and music publishing in pre-revolutionary Russia. The book is also a receuil of the brightly coloured title pages that adorned the first editions of Mitrofan Petrovich Belaieff (1836-1903/4); there are in this book no less than 145 full-page colour facsimile plates, the jewels of a vast collection of printed music in the hands of the author.
The Beauty of Belaieff is designed for easy reference and will be treasured by scholars, students, performers and anyone interested in this extraordinary, fecund - and decadent - period of Russian cultural history. The book, true to the spirit of the main protagonist, is extravagantly bound in hardback and printed on high-grade paper with the text and the full colour plates generously spaced over 367 pages. It is a valuable and permanent addition to any library.
Julian Gallant, East-West Review, The Journal of the Great Britain-Russia Society. Summer edition 2008 (View the complete review here)
David Brown wrote an
excellent entry in the 1980 New Grove (on Taneyev) and most important of
all, the
late Richard Beattie Davis has written a uniquely perceptive article in
The Beauty
of Belaieff, published in 2008. This is a truly
staggering book that I cannot recommend highly enough.
Robert Max A.R.A.M.,
Cellist of the Barbican Piano Trio, Principal Cellist of the London
Chamber Orchestra, Musical Director of the Oxford Symphony Orchestra,
Honorary Professor of the Rachmaninov Institute in Tambov, Russia
Richard Beattie Davis’ long awaited volume is the result of many years of painstaking research underpinned by a lifetime of engagement in Russian musical culture by one of its most devoted and astute commentators. The breadth and scope of his enquiry will be of immense interest to those involved not just in Russian and European musicology, but to specialists and students alike of Russian visual culture, and of course to the life and work of the extraordinarily perspicacious Mitrofan Belaieff. This is, and will doubtless remain, the authoritative work in its field and will prove of seminal importance to all devotees of the Russian arts.
Professor The Beauty of Belaieff is a must for all lovers of Russian music. It should inspire the reader to seek out scores and recordings of works by lesser known composers, as well as those by Glazunov, Rimsky-Korsakov & Skryabin. The superb chromo-lithographed title pages reproduced in large numbers, make the book a visual delight. Malcolm Binns, Concert Pianist Suffice it to say Richard's book only gets better the more I look through it, and it continually tells me things I didn't know. Such depth, as well as accessibility. A rare combination we all strive for but which few attain. David Jackson, Leeds University Now that I have examined
closer your volume on Belaieff, I must say that the reproductions are of
such excellent quality. Your text, both for the introduction and for the
biographies, gives a wonderful insight into the background of the composers
together with the publication of their works. It is interesting from an
historical rather than a music-analytical point of view. The volume is thus not
just a 'nice' book, but also a valuable reference tool which should find a place
in every serious library. Congratulations on Richard's
awesome achievement regarding his scholarly masterpiece. I am finding the book
absolutely enthralling, not only is it beautifully produced and laid out, it is
packed with fascinating information, most of which I didn't know. I am finding
it very difficult to put it down and get any practising done. Without a shadow
of a doubt it is one of the most important and interesting books about Russian
music to have appeared in many years.
James Kirby - pianist,
Visiting teacher at Royal Holloway, University of
London. How wonderful to have this vital information
collected together and so comprehensively presented. The plates of the
publications are so beautiful. The work of this great publisher deserves to be
more widely acknowledged; there is so much music around today that would never
have been composed had it not been for him, and now thanks to Richard's hard
work we will be able at last to examine the full picture.
I have to say it is magnificent in every respect. So far I have
managed to read the introductions and the notes about some of the
composers (Taneyev, of course), and the prints are just beautiful.
It must be one of the most important books on Russian music ever
printed, certainly in the English language. The level of scholarship
and the authority with which it is written is marvellous. The Beauty of Belaieff contains a wealth of knowledge about one of the richest periods of Russian music. Each of the individual biographical profiles brings the composer to life through his works and contacts with friends, and provides insight into his character. The beautiful color plates, many of them very rare, are a visual feast as well as being invaluable documentary evidence of the Belaieff publications. Richard Beattie Davis has enriched our understanding of the personalities and period of late 19th century Russian music with this splendid book. Barbara Barry, Professor of Musicology, Conservatory of Music, Lynn University, Florida, USA. This exquisite book has been put together with the utmost care and attention to detail, and the painstaking research that has gone into it makes for a fascinating and readable experience. The vivid plates are worthy of a book of their own! I very much hope that Richard Beattie-Davis will garner fellow-enthusiasts for Belaieff's stable of somewhat lesser-known Russian composers, and that it will stimulate an interest in hearing the works that he has written about with such inspiration and authority. Annette Isserlis, Viola-player, Professor RCM and RNCM, Recording-producer. England. In producing this definitive
reference work, Richard Beattie Davis has done what no other musicologist, not
even in Russia, has ever done…he has managed to bridge the wide gap in the study
of Russian Music at its most fertile and crucial moments by shedding light on
the legacy of M.P. Belaieff (1836-1903/4), one of its pivotal figures. I highly
recommend this book to anyone who cares about music and is interested in Music
History, Lithography, Ballet, Opera and Russian Music and its composers in
particular. My sincerest congratulations
on your recent book launch! So many across the world will thank you for years to
come for your searches and careful endless hours of work to share the incredible
beauty in your priceless collection! I feel so privileged to have visited the
library (at Florida Atlantic University) and personally seen these amazing
scores and editions. Your dedication to the noble cause of sharing your research
will bring such joy to countless people. I am very excited to purchase the book
as soon as it is available!
If you attended the From
Russia exhibition at London’s Royal Academy in 2008 you will have marvelled not
only at the works but also at the foresight of the collector-patrons such as
Morozov and Shchukin. M.P. Belaieff was their musical equivalent, a plutocrat
who supported a whole generation of Russian composers - Rimsky-Korsakov,
Borodin, Glazunov, and Skryabin to name just a few. If sheet music was the
crucial medium for the promotion of music, it was Belaieff’s great contribution,
without regard to commercial return, to maintain the tradition of extravagant
title pages. Richard Beattie Davis’ The Beauty of Belaieff is the fruit of years
of scholarship and will remain the authoritative work on the publisher. The book
is much more than a catalogue; it is a window on life in fin de siècle Russia
with all its extravagance and creativity. The Beauty of Belaieff is a welcome
and fascinating volume for a wide and not necessarily specialist readership. It is a fact that players rarely pay attention to such things as readability, layout or page turns unless there is a problem. But for those who have, the editions published by M.P. Belaieff before the Russian Revolution are widely regarded to be the best of their kind. Now appears a very interesting book---The Beauty of Belaieff by Richard Beattie Davis---which describes the painstaking care and attention to artistic detail which Belaieff took in publishing his editions. The Belaieff editors not only worked to create the most readable and best laid out editions for their musician customers, but also strove to create gorgeous cover pages which rose to an extremely high artistic level. These lovely cover pages, as Davis tells us in his introduction, were meant to create a visual picture and mood about the work on whose front they have appeared. The Beauty of Belaieff combines a fascinating narrative on Belaieff and the composers he published while at the same time presenting well over 100 examples--vivid color plates--- of the spectacular frontispieces that adorned so many of the Belaieff editions. This is a highly informative work which is also a treat for the eyes. R.H.R. Silvertrust, Editor, The Chamber Music Journal
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