Paul du Quenoy


Paul du Quenoy is a historian, critic, investor, philanthropist, and internationally recognized specialist in several academic fields, including Russian History, Modern Europe, and the History of Music. He is the author of several notable books and is also a well known music critic.

Background

Paul du Quenoy graduated summa cum laude from George Washington University at age 20 and went on to receive his Ph.D. with distinction from Georgetown University, where he was the last Ph.D. graduate of the late Russian History scholar Richard Stites. He has held two Fulbright fellowships for study in Russia and in 2004-2005 was an inaugural fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, DC. He has also held research awards from the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies, the American Historical Association, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Slavic-Eurasian Research Center at Hokkaido University in Japan. Most recently, he was on the faculty of the American University of Beirut, and previously taught at Georgetown and the American University in Cairo.

Academic work

Paul du Quenoy's scholarly interests range from cultural history to global military and diplomatic affairs, with articles ranging from early modern cartography to Soviet foreign policy. His first book, Stage Fright: Politics and the Performing Arts in Late Imperial Russia, won high praise. Princeton University Russia scholar Caryl Emerson declared it "wonderfully unusual" and praised "its devastating command of the historical record." Professor E. Anthony Swift of the University of Essex welcomed it as an "important new contribution to the field" that "should be read by anyone interested in the relationship of politics and the arts." According to The American Historical Review, Stage Fright "demolishes Soviet arguments" and conclusively demonstrates the vital commercial elements in Russian culture, which du Quenoy argues was relatively free before the Revolution of 1917. The Modern Language Review said that "this book offers a detailed counter-argument to teleological readings of the cultural and political situation in late imperial Russia." Du Quenoy subsequently published Wagner and the French Muse: Music, Society, and Nation in Modern France, which has been lauded by University of Illinois French literature specialist Margaret Miner as a "pleasantly readable, extensively documented narrative" of the German composer Richard Wagner's reception in France. Novelist, poet, and Welsh National Opera dramaturg Simon Rees's review in Opera magazine called it a "rattling good read" and "well-written analysis." His third book, Alexander Serov and the Birth of the Russian Modern, was hailed by the influential journal Russian Review for its "new angle" and "views that allow for a reexamination of some of the century's biggest controversies." The award-winning critic George Loomis praised it as "well researched and readable." Music and Letters extolled the book as "ably written, balanced, highly detailed, and documented with care... As such it outdoes existing Russian efforts."

Criticism and travel and tourism

In addition to his academic work, Paul du Quenoy is a professional music critic with bylines from the world's leading theatrical capitals, including Paris, Berlin, Vienna, New York, San Francisco, London, Milan, St. Petersburg, Barcelona, Santa Fe, and the Salzburg, Bayreuth, and Verona Festivals. He is also a sought after lecturer in the travel and tourism industry, particularly in cruise itineraries. In 2012 he was a Distinguished Guest Speaker on Seabourn Cruise Line's World Cruise.

Society

In 2011 du Quenoy became one of the youngest people ever elected to membership in Washington, DC's Cosmos Club, where National Geographic magazine was founded. He also belongs to the New York Athletic Club, the Metropolitan Opera Club and the University Club of Washington, DC and serves as chairman of the Russian Ball of Washington, DC.

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