Anatoly Alexandrov (composer)

Anatoly Nikolayevich Alexandrov (Russian: Анато́лий Никола́евич Алекса́ндров) (May 25 1888 [O.S. May 13], Moscow – April 16, 1982, Moscow) was a Russian composer of works for piano and for other instruments, and pianist. His initial works had a mystical element, but he downplayed this to better fit Socialist realism. He led a somewhat retiring life, but received several honors.

Alexandrov was the son of a Professor of Tomsk University. He attended the Moscow Conservatory (which he left in 1915), where he was a pupil of Nikolai Zhilyayev, Sergei Taneyev and Sergei Vasilenko (theory), Alexander Ilyinsky (composition) and Konstantin Igumnov (pianoforte). His early music revealed the influence of Nikolai Medtner and Alexander Scriabin. He was appointed Professor at the Moscow Conservatory in 1923.^[1] Viktor Belyaev, Alexandrov's first biographer, wrote in 1926: "If Myaskovsky is a thinker, and Feinberg a psychologist, then Alexandrov is, before anything else, a poet." Alexandrov was also a strong proponent of Stanchinsky and edited much of his compositions for publication.

Works

For orchestra

• Symphony No. 1 in C, Op. 92 (1965)
• Symphony No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 109 (1977/78)
• Piano concerto, Op. 102 (1974)
• Overture on Russian folksongs, Op. 29 (1915, rev. 1930)
• Overture on two Russian folksongs, Op. 65 (1948)
• Stage and Film music

Vocal music

• Two Worlds, opera (1916)
• The Forty-first, opera, Op. 41 (1933–35, unfinished)
• Béla, opera, Op. 51 (1940–45)
• Die wilde Bara, opera, Op. 82 (1954–57)
• Lewscha, children's opera, Op. 103 (1975)
• many songs for voice and piano

Chamber music

• String quartet No. 1 in G, Op. 7(1914, rev. 1921)
• String quartet No. 2 in C-sharp minor, Op. 54 (1942)
• String quartet No. 3, Op. 55 (1942)
• String quartet No. 4 in C major, Op. 80 (1953)
• Cello sonata in G major, Op. 112 (1981/82)

For piano

• Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 4. "Märchensonate" (1914)
• Sonata No. 2 in D minor, Op. 12 (1918)
• Sonata No. 3 in F-sharp minor, Op. 18 (1920, rev. 1956 und 1967)
• Sonata No. 4 in C, Op. 19 (1922, rev. 1954)
• Sonata No. 5 in G-sharp minor, Op. 22 (1923, rev. 1938)
• Sonata No. 6 in G, Op. 26 (1925)
• Sonata No. 7 in D, Op. 42 (1932)
• Sonata No. 8 in B-flat, Op. 50 (1939–44)
• Sonata No. 9 in C minor, Op. 61 (1945)
• Sonata No. 10 in F, Op. 72 (1951)
• Sonata No. 11 in C, Op. 81 "Sonate-Fantasie" (1955)
• Sonata No. 12 in B minor, Op. 87 (1962)
• Sonata No. 13 in F-sharp minor, Op. 90 "Märchensonate" (1964)
• Sonata No. 14 in E, Op. 97 (1971)
• Little Suite No. 1, Op. 33 (1929)
• Little Suite No. 2, Op. 78 (1952)
• Little Suite No. 3, Op. 101 (1973)
• "Obsession passée", 4 Fragments, Op. 6 (1911–17)
• "Eight Pieces after themes from Songs of the People of the USSR", Op. 46 (1937)
• "Romantic Episodes", 10 pieces, Op. 88 (1962)
• "Memories", 5 pieces, Op. 110 (1979)
• "Visions", 2 pieces, Op. 111 (1979, unfinished)
• 3 Etudes Op 31
• A Long-Forgotten Madness Op. 6 (1918)
• 6 Preludes Op. 1
• 2 Pieces Op. 3
• 4 Passages Op. 6
• 4 Preludes Op. 10
• Ballad Op. 40
• 4 Narratives Op. 48
• 4 Pieces Op. 75
• Elegy and Waltz Op. 89
• a great number of smaller pieces

Instrumental Music

Suite for Wind Quartet (Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon)

References

1. These details from A. Eaglefield-Hull, A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians (Dent, London 1924).