January 14, 2019.Russian festival.Three Russian composers were born this week, all in the 19th century.None of them rose to the level of “greatness,” but all were individually interesting and significant in the history of the Russian music.The oldest, César Cui, was born on January 18th of 1835.His father was an officer in Napoleon’s army, stayed in Russia after the defeat and married a Lithuanian. César was born in Vilnius.He studied engineering in St.Petersburg and eventually became a noted expert in military fortifications.He had studied music since childhood but never professionally and became serious about it only after meeting Balakirev in St.-Petersburg in 1856.Through Balakirev, Cui became friends with the rest of the “Mighty Five,” Borodin, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov.It’s interesting to note this moment in the development of Russian classical music.It had a rather precise beginning, in 1836, when Glinka’s opera A Life for the Tzar was premiered.Of course, the Russian elite was familiar with the European music through travel and local performances by Western musicians, but Russian music composed prior to that time was Italianate and not very original.Thus we can say that in 1856, when the Mighty Five came together, Russian music was just 20 years old.Cui was probably the least interesting of the group, but he wrote several operas, a number of orchestral pieces (though no symphonies), some chamber music and many art songs.Here’s one of Cui’s orchestral pieces, Tarantella.Ondrej Lenárd leads the Slovak State Symphony Orchestra.
Vasily Kalinnikov, another Russian whose music is not well known in the West, was born on January 13th of 1966.Born in the Oryol province, he studied in a seminary where he also took music lessons.He attended the preparatory classes at the Moscow conservatory but couldn’t afford to study there full time.A music critic mentioned Kalinnikov to Tchaikovsky, who recommended that Maly Theater hires him as conductor; that position provided Kalinnikov with a steady income.Kalinnikov worked in the style broadly following The Five and Tchaikovsky’s.His First Symphony is regularly performed both in Russia and the West.In 1893 Kalinnikov contracted tuberculosis and moved to Crimea, where the climate was better; and continued to compose but died two days shy of his 35th birthday.Kalinnikov wrote some interesting church music.Here’s his Cherubic Hymn performed by the choir of Moscow Patriarchy under the direction of Hieromonk Amvrosiy.
Alexander Tcherepnin was born on January 20th of 1899 in St.Petersburg.His father, also a composer, was a pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov; Lyadov, Cui, Stravinsky and Prokofiev were friends of the family.Tcherepnin composed from an early age; by the time of the Revolution of 1917, when his family fled St.Petersburg to Tbilisi, Georgia, he had written about 200 small-scale pieces.In 1921 the family moved to Paris where Tcherepnin lived till 1949, when he moved to Chicago to teach at DePaul University. He became a US citizen in 1958.Techerepnin retired in 1964 and moved to New York. He died in Paris on September 29th of 1977 of a heart attack.His early compositions were influenced by Prokofiev, he later wrote many pieces in pentatonic scale.Here’s his Cello sonata no. 1 from 1929.The cellist is Alexander Ivashkin with Geoffrey Tozer on the piano.
And speaking of Russia, Mischa Elman, one of the most prominent violinists of the 20th century, was born on January 20th of 1891 in Talnoe, a mostly Jewish town in central Ukraine (then part of the Russian empire).
Russian festival, 2019
January 14, 2019. Russian festival. Three Russian composers were born this week, all in the 19th century. None of them rose to the level of “greatness,” but all were individually interesting and significant in the history of the Russian music. The oldest, César Cui, was born on January
18th of 1835. His father was an officer in Napoleon’s army, stayed in Russia after the defeat and married a Lithuanian. César was born in Vilnius. He studied engineering in St.Petersburg and eventually became a noted expert in military fortifications. He had studied music since childhood but never professionally and became serious about it only after meeting Balakirev in St.-Petersburg in 1856. Through Balakirev, Cui became friends with the rest of the “Mighty Five,” Borodin, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. It’s interesting to note this moment in the development of Russian classical music. It had a rather precise beginning, in 1836, when Glinka’s opera A Life for the Tzar was premiered. Of course, the Russian elite was familiar with the European music through travel and local performances by Western musicians, but Russian music composed prior to that time was Italianate and not very original. Thus we can say that in 1856, when the Mighty Five came together, Russian music was just 20 years old. Cui was probably the least interesting of the group, but he wrote several operas, a number of orchestral pieces (though no symphonies), some chamber music and many art songs. Here’s one of Cui’s orchestral pieces, Tarantella. Ondrej Lenárd leads the Slovak State Symphony Orchestra.
Vasily Kalinnikov, another Russian whose music is not well known in the West, was born on January 13th of 1966. Born in the Oryol province, he studied in a seminary where he also took music lessons. He attended the preparatory classes at the Moscow conservatory but couldn’t afford to study there full time. A music critic mentioned Kalinnikov to Tchaikovsky, who recommended that Maly Theater hires him as conductor; that position provided Kalinnikov with a steady income. Kalinnikov worked in the style broadly following The Five and Tchaikovsky’s. His First Symphony is regularly performed both in Russia and the West. In 1893 Kalinnikov contracted tuberculosis and moved to Crimea, where the climate was better; and continued to compose but died two days shy of his 35th birthday. Kalinnikov wrote some interesting church music. Here’s his Cherubic Hymn performed by the choir of Moscow Patriarchy under the direction of Hieromonk Amvrosiy.
Alexander Tcherepnin was born on January 20th of 1899 in St.Petersburg. His father, also a composer, was a pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov; Lyadov, Cui, Stravinsky and Prokofiev were friends of the family. Tcherepnin composed from an early age; by the time of the Revolution of 1917, when his family fled St.Petersburg to Tbilisi, Georgia, he had written about 200 small-scale pieces. In 1921 the family moved to Paris where Tcherepnin lived till 1949, when he moved to Chicago to teach at DePaul University. He became a US citizen in 1958. Techerepnin retired in 1964 and moved to New York. He died in Paris on September 29th of 1977 of a heart attack. His early compositions were influenced by Prokofiev, he later wrote many pieces in pentatonic scale. Here’s his Cello sonata no. 1 from 1929. The cellist is Alexander Ivashkin with Geoffrey Tozer on the piano.
And speaking of Russia, Mischa Elman, one of the most prominent violinists of the 20th century, was born on January 20th of 1891 in Talnoe, a mostly Jewish town in central Ukraine (then part of the Russian empire).