ABSTRACT
One of the most important names in the development of Russian classical music throughout Uzbekistan was that of Viktor Uspenskii (1879-1949 [cf. Vyzgo 1950, 5]). This Russian musicologist taught Western principles to Uzbek students from the 1920s onward, in particular musical theory, harmony, and polyphonic orchestration over a period that witnessed the establishment of a Music Conservatory in Tashkent, together with a Russian Opera Theater and Choral Ensemble; enhancing this developmental process with a “reciprocal” gesture, Uzbek composers would begin traveling to study in Moscow, Leningrad, and Kiev (Spector, 478-9). Instigating the colonial spirit of these travels, Uspenskii had grown up in Central Asia but was a graduate of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and early advocate of the idea that Russians musicians “ought to learn Uzbek music” (Levin, 13).
