
cultural historian specializing in Soviet, Russian, and French music with expertise in dance, cinema, aesthetics, archival research, and historically informed performance
Simon Morrison has conducted archival research in St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Paris, London, New York, Washington DC, Copenhagen, and (most extensively) in Moscow.
Recently he has traveled to Tel Aviv, Beijing, Hong Kong, Montreal, Moscow, Copenhagen, and Bangkok to give invited lectures and graduate seminars.
Morrison's latest book is a comprehensive, archival history OF THE BOLSHOI BALLET PUBLISHED BY LIVERIGHT, the prestigious and storied imprint of W.W. Norton. Future books include studies of Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky, again based on new archival sources. Bolshoi Confidential is a “Booklist Editors’ Choice” for 2016.


Author of...
Several books and articles including Russian Opera and the Symbolist Movement (California, 2002) and The People’s Artist: Prokofiev’s Soviet Years (Oxford, 2009) as well as editor of Prokofiev and His World (Princeton, 2008) and, with Klara Moricz, Funeral Games: In Honor of Arthur Vincent Lourié (Oxford, 2014).
Shortlisted for the 2017 Pushkin Prize. Learn more.

Adviser to...
Conductors, choreographers, performers, and publishers of scores and scenarios for dances once lost to both historians and artists alike. Both Music for Athletes, by Serge Prokofiev and the original ending to Prokofiev's famed Romeo and Juliet were brought to life thanks to Simon's careful archival research, and collaboration with institutions such as Princeton University and Mark Morris Dance Group.
Morrison writes for a wide public, including readers of The New York Times, New York Review of Books, Threepenny Review, London Review of Books, and Times Literary Supplement. He serveD as president of the Prokofiev Foundation, and edited the journal Three Oranges, produced under its auspices.

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Musicologists: Article title please! https://t.co/GcnT9yBQDQ
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The wall of photos of people getting spanked, North Hollywood diner. https://t.co/askg2Iv500
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Phenomenal Merce Cunningham exhibit at LA Contemporary Museum of Art. https://t.co/EPG38qvZ48
Simon & His Work In The News
Bolshoi Confidential- Featured Story with Princeton University News
Behind the curtain: Scandal, tragedy, art and politics at the Bolshoi
Posted November 28, 2016; 12:00 p.m.
By Jamie Saxon, Office of Communications