Andrei Bely is best known for the modernist masterwork Petersburg, a
paradigmatic example of how modern writers strove to evoke the
fragmentation of language, narrative, and consciousness. In the early
twentieth century, Bely embarked on his life as an artist with texts he
called "symphonies"--works experimenting with genre and sound, written
in a style that shifts among prosaic, poetic, and musical. This book
presents Bely's four Symphonies--"Dramatic Symphony," "Northern
Symphony," "The Return," and "Goblet of Blizzards"--fantastically
strange stories that capture the banality of life, the intimacy of love,
and the enchantment of art.
The Symphonies are quintessential works of modernist innovation in
which Bely developed an evocative mythology and distinctive aesthetics.
Influenced by Russian Symbolism, Bely believed that the role of modern
artists was to imbue seemingly small details with cosmic significance.
The Symphonies depict the drabness of daily life with distinct irony
and satire--and then soar out of turn-of-the-century Moscow into the
realm of the infinite and eternal. They conjure worlds that resemble our
own but reveal elements of artifice and magic, hinting at mystical
truths and the complete transfiguration of life. Showcasing the protean
quality of Bely's language and storytelling, Jonathan Stone's
translation of the Symphonies features some of the most captivating
and beguiling writing of Russia's Silver Age.
