London Adventures and Contacts of Vladimir Dukelsky
Vladimir Dukelsky’s (Vernon Duke’s) first visit to London took place in 1925. Focusing on the most significant for Dukelsky facts of the period - his break-off and interruption of collaboration with Diaghilev, songwriting for London music-hall (on commission from C. Cochran and J. White), meeting and making friends with William Walton - the author of the paper shows their influence on the composer’s professional development. Duke’s later works as well as Walton’s compositions are also mentioned as examples.The paper is based on traditional methods of historical musicology and its approaches to reconstruction, interpretation and integration of information, such as historical comparativistics, musical textology and reconstruction of the past with the help of archival research. Comparing Walton’s and Duke’s styles the author applies methods of musical analysis. As it is shown in the article the London period provided new impetus to Dukelsky’s music. His early experience of contributing to American music industry and his Parisian contacts (L. Massine in particular) served as prerequisites for his work for London music-hall which led to controversy with Diaghilev and to emergence of his pseudonym Vernon Duke which later became his official name and his creative alter-ego. Duke’s experience of work for musical comedy turned to be in high demand after his return to USA in 1929. Correspondence between Duke and Walton as well as comparison of the composers’ music shows some aesthetic, stylistic, and chronological parallels between them. On the other hand, the most notable differences reflect dissimilarity in lives and positions and also creative personalities of the two composers.