Musical Portraits : Interpretations of Twenty Modern Composers — A Reader’s Guide

Wagner as Cultural Symptom

Rosenfeld treats Wagner not merely as a composer but as a force that "descended with the formative might of the perfect image" upon every corner of "coal-power civilization." The language is deliberately hyperbolic: Wagner's music is "the century's paean of material triumph," its "cry of pride in its possessions." Rosenfeld hears in the "tonal pomp and ceremony" the voice of railways, shipping, and mines. He does not analyze leitmotifs or harmonic innovation; instead, he reads orchestral texture as a direct expression of historical consciousness.

This approach risks sweeping generalization, but Rosenfeld grounds it in specific musical features: the "arrogant stride," the "sumptuous texture," the way the music "seems forever seeking to form images of grandeur and empire." For Rosenfeld, Wagner's style is the nineteenth century's self-image. The critic's job, as he practices it, is to articulate that equivalence in vivid, almost poetic prose.

Rimsky-Korsakoff: The Brilliant Tourist

Rosenfeld's treatment of Rimsky-Korsakoff is more ambivalent. He acknowledges the composer's "remarkable sense of the chemistry of timbres" and his influence on Stravinsky, but he frames Rimsky's art as that of a "stranger to Russia and his fellows." The charge is that Rimsky perceived only "the superficial and picturesque elements"—Orientalism, barbaric coloring—and found his happiest expression in fantasy. Rosenfeld contrasts this with Stravinsky's ability to achieve "faëry and wonder and flittergold" that Rimsky never attained.

The critique is sharpened by a telling anecdote: Tchaikovsky, in a "characteristically servile letter," praised every one of Rimsky's thirty practice fugues as "perfect." Rosenfeld uses this to illustrate a culture of empty technical worship. Yet he also praises Rimsky's "dry, real sense of humor" in Le Coq d'or and his role as a stylistic link to the younger generation. The portrait is balanced but ultimately damning: Rimsky is a brilliant craftsman who lacked the courage to open "the dark sluices."

Stravinsky as the Fulfillment

Rosenfeld uses Stravinsky as a foil to Rimsky-Korsakoff, arguing that the pupil surpassed the master precisely where it matters most: expressive depth. He cites L'Oiseau de feu, Petrouchka, and Le Sacre du printemps as works that achieve what Rimsky's similar efforts could not—"naked power" in the case of Sacre, and a genuine "fantastic dream-bird" in Firebird. The comparison is not merely evaluative; it reveals Rosenfeld's criteria for great music: it must be more than clever orchestration or folkloric imitation.

Rosenfeld's key insight is that Stravinsky's orchestration "makes him appear to defer to [the instruments] rather than to impose his will on them." This is a subtle observation about the relationship between composer and material. Where Rimsky remained a virtuoso manipulator of timbres, Stravinsky achieved a new kind of speech. The excerpts do not show Rosenfeld's full argument about Stravinsky, but the comparative method is clear: he judges each composer by how fully they realize their expressive intentions, and he is unafraid to rank them.

Rosenfeld's portraits are best read as essays in the old sense—attempts, not encyclopedic summaries. He writes from a passionate, early-twentieth-century modernist perspective, valuing emotional authenticity and formal innovation. Readers should expect strong opinions, metaphorical language, and a critical voice that treats composers as embodiments of cultural forces. The book rewards those who enjoy criticism as a literary art, but it does not provide neutral biography or analysis.

That rainy afternoon, Rosenfeld’s Musical Portraits kept me company, his fierce opinions on Wagner and Bloch settling like warm tea. His insistence that technique without expressive depth is hollow made me pause, and I found myself reaching for an older, gentler voice on piano poetry — Frederick Chopin, as a Man and Musician — Complete — Context and Discussion. The rain fell softer then, as if listening.