Editing César Cui (section)

== Cui as a music critic ==
As a writer on music, Cui contributed almost 800 articles to various newspapers and other publications in Russia and Europe between 1864 and 1918 (he "retired" from regular music criticism in 1900). His wide coverage included concerts, recitals, musical life, new publications of music, and personalities. A significant number of his articles (ca. 300) dealt with opera.<ref>Кюи, ''Избранные статьи'', Библиографический указатель статей Ц. А. Кюи, 1864–1918 [Bibliographic index of articles by C. A. Cui, 1864–1918], pp. 624–660.</ref> Several of his themed sets of articles were reissued as monographs; these covered topics as varied as the original 1876 production of [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]'s ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' in [[Bayreuth Festspielhaus|Bayreuth]], the development of the Russian romance ''[[art song]]'', music in Russia, and [[Anton Rubinstein]]'s seminal lectures on the history of [[piano]] music of 1888–1889 (see list of writings below). In addition, as indicated above as part of his profession, Cui also published many books and articles about military fortifications.<ref>{{Cite web|title=César Cui {{!}} Russian composer|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cesar-Cui|access-date=2021-04-19|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Because of rules related to his status in the Russian military, in the early years his musico-critical articles had to be published under a pseudonym, which consisted of three asterisks (***); in Petersburg musical circles, however, it became clear who was writing the articles.<ref>Назаров, pp. 68–69.</ref><ref>Гозенпуд, А. А., ''Русский оперный театр XIX века, 1857–1872'', p. 235.</ref> His musical reviews began in the ''[[St. Petersburg Vedomosti]]'', expressing disdain for music before [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] (such as [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]) and his advocacy of originality in music. Sarcasm was a regular feature of his [[feuilleton]]s.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

[[Image:AveCesar Raevsky CuiIP 177 600 cap.JPG|thumb|left|250px|Caricature of Cui by Rayevsky, based on a painting by [[Jean-Léon Gérôme]]. The gladiators in the center bear shields inscribed with the titles of Cui's operas ''[[William Ratcliff (Cui)|William Ratcliff]]'', ''[[The Mandarin's Son]]'', and ''[[Angelo (opera)|Angelo]]''.]] Cui's primary goal as a critic was to promote the music of contemporary Russian composers, especially the works of his now better-known co-members of The Five.  Even they, however, were not spared negative reactions from him here and there, especially in his blistering review of the first production of Mussorgsky's ''[[Boris Godunov (opera)|Boris Godunov]]'' in 1874.<ref>Кюи, "Театр и музыка.  ''Борис Годунов'', опера г. Мусоргского, дважды забракованная водивильным комитетом" ["Theatre and music.  ''Boris Godunov'', opera by Mr. Musorgsky, twice rejected by the vaudeville committee"], ''Санкт-Петербургские ведомости'', 6 февр. 1874, No. 37, 1874</ref> Later in life, Cui championed the music of this late colleague of his to the point of making the first completion of Mussorgsky's unfinished opera ''[[The Fair at Sorochyntsi]]''.<ref>Назаров, pp. 214–215.</ref>

Russian composers outside of The Five, however, were often more likely to produce a negative reaction.  This derived at least partly from distrust of the Western-style [[Music school|conservatory]] system in favor of the autodidactic approach that The Five had practiced.  For instance, Cui lambasted Tchaikovsky's second performed opera, ''[[The Oprichnik]]'',<ref>"Музыкальные заметки.  ''Опричник'', опера г. Чайковского" [Musical notes.  ''The Oprichnik'', opera by Mr. Tchaikovsky"], ''Санкт-Петербургские ведомости'', 23 апр. 1874, No. 110, 1874.</ref> and his stinging remarks about [[Symphony No. 1 (Rachmaninoff)|Rachmaninoff's Symphony No.1]]<ref>"Театр и музыка.  Третий Русский симфонический концерт" ["Theatre and music.  Third Russian Symphony Concert"], ''Новости и биржевая газета'', 17 марта No. 75, 1897.]</ref> are often cited; fortunately, both works have survived their unfavorable premieres for posterity.

Of Western composers, Cui favored [[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz]] and [[Franz Liszt|Liszt]] as progressives.<ref>Кюи, "Первые композиторские шаги", p. 554.</ref>  He admired Wagner's aspirations concerning music drama, but did not agree with that composer's methods to achieve them (such as the [[leitmotif]] system and the predominance of the orchestra).<ref>Кюи, "Несколько слов о современных оперных формах"  ["A Few Words about Contemporary Operatic Forms"], ''Избранные статьи,'' p. 416.</ref>

Late in life, Cui's presumed progressiveness (as espoused in the 1860s and '70s) faded, and he showed firm hostility towards the younger "modernists" such as [[Richard Strauss]] and [[Vincent d'Indy]].<ref>Кюи, ''Избранные статьи'', pp. 537–550</ref>  Cui's last published articles (from 1917) constituted merciless parodies, including the little song "Hymn to [[Futurism (art)|Futurism]]" and "Concise Directions on How to Become a Modern Composer of Genius without Being a Musician".<ref>Кюи, ''Избранные статьи'', pp. 550–552.</ref>