Musorgsky's Gravestone

[William Nickell]

I am not an expert on this, but was curious.  A bit of browsing on the web turned up similar stars on the graves of Pushkin and Nekrasov, and conjectures that they appear there in a Judeo-Christian context.

Bill Nickell


William Nickell
Asst. Professor of Russian Literature
Dept. of Slavic Languages & Literatures
University of Chicago

On Jan 23, 2013, at 4:03 PM, Olga Meerson wrote:

> Да ведают потомки православных земли родной минувшую судьбу = "so that the posterity of the Orthodox [Christians] would know the past [destiny] of their native land,' not "And thus the future generations/Will of their faith and people learn the past."  The presence of Mussirgsky's Christian Orthodox identity, at least insofar as his task parallels Pimen's (as a co-chronicler with, say, Pushkin), is ensured by these words. The star of David may reflect the fact that Mussorgsky had many sources for his music in Jewish pubs, or that the motifs interested him at least as much as the native Russian themes and motifs (cf. Pictures at an Exhibition), as later they would interest Shostakovich. On the other hand, the star may mean the same thing it does in the portal of the Florentine Church dedicated to the Holy Cross (the Santa Croce)---namely, be at least as Christian in its symbolism as it would be Jewish for the Modern times. This happens to many other symbols and notions---virtually all of them in the Old Testament :)
> 
> 
> On Mon, Jan 21, 2013 at 2:31 PM, Patricia A. Krafcik <krafcikp at evergreen.edu> wrote:
> Dear SEELANGERS:
> 
> Might anyone know why the composer Modest Musorgsky's gravestone does not sport a cross or any evident Christian or Orthodox Christian symbol, but instead what appears a Star of David above the engraving of his head? Gravestones
> of other Russian composers routinely included Christian symbols, but not his (unless there is something I cannot discern in the photos). The monument, according to biographers, was designed by an architect by the name Bogomolov, and the bust by a young sculptor by the name of Ginzburg. On the stone is an inscription of two lines from Pimen's narrative (from "Boris Godunov"): "And thus the future generations/Will of their faith and people learn the past."
> 
> Thanks in advance for your thoughts and perhaps specific information about this issue.
> --Patricia Krafcik
> The Evergreen State College
> krafcikp at evergreen.edu
> 
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