The Life and Artistry of Maria Olenina-d'Alheim.(Review)

By Alexander Tumanov. Translated by Christopher Barnes. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2000. [xix, 358 p. ISBN 0-88864-328-4. $34.95 (pbk.).]

It is not every day that one encounters a book that opens up a new field of interest, but such is Alexander Tumanov's deeply informative and admirably documented biography, The Life and Artistry of Maria O'lenina-d'Alheim. Its subject is the singer who, more than any other person, was responsible for making Modest Mussorgsky's music known to the Western world. Born in Russia on 19 September (1 October, New Style) 1869 on the family estate of Istomino in the province of Ryazan, Maria Alexeyevna Olenina came from a cultivated, highly intelligent family. The Olenin household was renowned for its artistic gatherings, at which, in former years, Mikhail Glinka's songs and romances had been performed and Aleksandr Pushkin had recited his verses. From birth Olenina had poor eyesight, but this heightened her hearing and musical memory. Brought up in the country, she heard firsthand byliny (epic ballads) about characters like Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich, the idiosyncratic singing of the peasant performers m aking a strong impression upon her. In 1887 her family moved to St. Petersburg, where she was introduced to the activities and music of the members of the Mighty Handful and subsequently had personal meetings with Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev and Vladimir Stasov. In the capital, she took lessons with Yulia Platonova, a keen supporter of the music of the "new Russian school," and particularly that of Mussorgsky. Impressed by her pupil's exceptional musical gifts, Platonova spoke warmly of her talents to Balakirev and Stasov, and as a result of these recommendations, Olenina was invited to perform in the winter of 1887 at a musical gathering at Balakirev's house in honor of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Nearly all the great Russian composers attended--including Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Glazunov, and other members of the nationalist school--and Olenina's performance was received with the greatest enthusiasm. In 1898, following her move to Paris six years earlier, she married Pierre d'Alheim, a distant relati ve and author of a book on Mussorgsky. Together, they introduced the novel concept of conferences, or lecture-recitals, in which an introductory talk delivered by Pierre would be followed by a recital given by Maria. In 1901 the d'Alheims visited Russia, and in a review of a concert given by Olenina at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Cesar Cui noted that she was the first Russian chamber-music singer. In 1908 the d'Alheims, along with Anna Vasilyevna Tarasevich, founded the House of Song (Russian: Dom pesni; French: Maison du lied) in Moscow, the purpose of which was to ...