How does one understand a composer whose music is often described as enigmatic, who considered her music to be beyond analytical approach (Nalimova 56), and whose publisher described her compositions as having “her own language, which is unique and is beyond any form of analysis” (Derks 33)? How do you approach a woman whose music has been characterized as Russian nihilism (Blois 11), hallmarked by brutality (Ross H23), and as a “pure manifestation of life of the spirit… it i