Message #31696

[Neil McGowan]

Richard Taruskin is an American musicologist (since the 1980s) who has latterly dabbled with "public intellectual" status, writing about all manner of things in the 'intelligent" press.

Taruskin is a combative and litigious individual, who has frequently resorted to legal proceedings to silence his opponents and critics.

His much-vaunted claims of family origins in Russia have been used to 'justify' his writings on Russian music. His book on Stravinsky alleges the composer was a compulsive serial liar. He has made a (lucrative) career out of attacking everything that happened in Russian music from 1917 to the present day - primarily on an ideological basis. Despite his claims to have been a performer on the viola-da-gamba (no proof of this career exists) he has viciously attacked the 'Early Music' movement (include character assassinations aimed at individuals who seem to have crossed him) and attempted to debunk all of its principles - truly disgusting behaviour for a so-called "academic".

Cynics would say that he has ruthless milked anti-Russian sentiment in the USA to obtain teaching posts and top-paying publishing contracts - which reward him for his Russophobic views.