{"id":1476823,"date":"2017-05-12T11:35:02","date_gmt":"2017-05-12T18:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/?p=1476823"},"modified":"2017-05-12T11:35:02","modified_gmt":"2017-05-12T18:35:02","slug":"5-musical-adaptations-dostoyevsky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/5-musical-adaptations-dostoyevsky\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Musical Adaptations of Dostoyevsky"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most people familiar with Dostoyevsky are likely to think of psychological darkness. Or perhaps his remarkable characters, from Roddy Raskolnikov to the Karamazov brothers. They may also be familiar with the numerous film adaptations, from Richard Brooks and Akira Kurosawa to Vitaly Sumin\u2019s<\/a> recent adaptations of White Nights<\/em> (Shades of Day<\/strong><\/em><\/a>)and Notes From the Underground (Notes from the New World<\/a><\/strong>)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What many might not know about Dostoyevsky, however, is his love of music.<\/p>\n

It is an excusable thing, given that the Master of Petersburg didn\u2019t write much about music in his fiction. But not unlike Nietzsche\u2019s associations with the world of music, it is an essential part of who Dostoyevsky was and what he loved about life. While a bit pedestrian at times, the instances where Dostoyevsky wrote about music revealed a genuine understanding of the art, no doubt reinforced by all the operas and performances he went to once he was able to leave the barracks where he was doing military service as a youth.<\/p>\n

One particular use of music in his corpus of Russian classics is Netochka Nezvanova<\/em>, a novel that was only partially completed when Dostoyevsky was arrested for his political activities. Though incomplete, it is a very unique story, most notably for its female protagonist.<\/p>\n

\"Netochka<\/a>In this story, a girl named Netochka lives in a dirt poor family. Her stepfather, Efimov, is a violinist who believes that he is the greatest violinist around, and though he never practices he nevertheless has some kind of natural talent that at the most opportune moment reinforces his belief in his own genius. A unique psychological specimen who could be related to the drunkard Marmeladov in Crime and Punishment<\/em>, Efimov ultimately meets his maker when he goes to hear a real master from Europe perform in St Petersburg. Initially dismissive of the master in public, the revelation of true genius overwhelms Efimov so much that it leads to his death. With the knack Dostoyevsky had for weaving together numerous different emotions, the detailing of Efimov\u2019s fate is as funny as it is sorrowful and profound.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If Dostoyevsky were alive today, he would certainly be happy to learn about the different ways in which his works have manifested themselves through music. Five notable instances include:<\/p>\n

1. From the House of the Dead<\/em><\/strong>, by Leos Janacek
\nThose who are even casually familiar with classical music may know of Antonin Dvorak, the Czech composer most famous for his Symphony from the New World. Lesser known is Leos Janacek, Dvoraks Moravian contemporary. His last opera was a three act adaptation of Dostoyevsky\u2019s novel From the House of the Dead<\/em>, based on Dostoyevsky\u2019s imprisonment in Siberia. One unique aspect of the opera is the use of chains as musical instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Janacheck<\/a><\/td>\n\"Janacheck<\/a><\/td>\n\"Janacheck<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n