In the aftermath of the February and October Revolutions of 1917 and the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Civil War, up to 2,000,000 Russians emigrated. By the mid 1930s, there were more than 20,000 Russian exiles living in Shanghai. This earned Shanghai the sobriquet 'St. Petersburg of the East', and the city contained the third largest Russian community in the World after Paris and Harbin outside of the Soviet Union. The project in which we are currently engaged investigates the contribution of Russian emigres to the musical life of the city and the development of Chinese musical life. Particular emphasis is placed on the contribution of Russian emigrs teachers to the development of Chinese music and education, the contribution of Russian emigres musicians to the musical life of Shanghai, and how working in China influenced these musicians.

The project represents the first in-depth study of the role that Russian emigres played in the musical life of Shanghai, and their contribution to the development of Chinese 'new' music. Publications deriving from the project will also contribute to the growing body literature that provides evidence of the willingness of peoples from diverse cultures to share and enrich each other's musical lives.

For more information:

Email: Neil.Edmunds@uwe.ac.uk