Music history with love? The hits, the cults, and the snobs

Abstract

In this article I refer to a number of examples of powerful manifestations of love for music that routinely fall under the radar of music historians. One of these is the present case study: the 'tenor cult' as a prominent feature of Soviet culture in the 40s and 50s. Discouraged by the authorities and scorned by critics, it led to extravagant behaviour that may seem anomalous for such a regimented society. This potent love for both music and performer was largely female-driven, and it delivered formative, life-defining experiences for many of the participants. I test the suitability of the concept of “the middlebrow” for analysing this phenomenon and investigate how such studies can contribute to the project of a listeneroriented music history.

Keywords

• the “tenor cult”
• sergei lemeshev
• ivan kozlovsky
• the middlebrow
• music listeners