Alexander (Gustav) Adolfovich Winkler, also Alexandre Adolfovitch Winkler (; 3 March 1865 in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

– 6 August 1935 in

Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...

), was a Russian

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

of German descent.

Biography

Winkler completed his studies in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

at the

University of Kharkiv The V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (), also known as Kharkiv National University or Karazin University, is a public university in Kharkiv, Ukraine. It was founded in 1804 through the efforts of Vasily Karazin, becoming the second old ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, in 1887 and also studied piano at the Kharkiv Music School of the

Russian Musical Society The Russian Musical Society (RMS) () was the first music school in Russia open to the general public. It was launched in 1859 by the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna and Anton Rubinstein, one of the few notable Russian pianists and composers of th ...

, graduating in 1889. He continued to study piano with Alphonse Duvernoy in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

with

Theodor Leschetizky Theodor Leschetizky (sometimes spelled Leschetitzky; ; 22 June 1830 – 14 November 1915) was a Polish pianist, professor, and composer active in Austria-Hungary. He was born in Landshut in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then a crown land ...

, where he was also a composition student of

Karel Navrátil Karel Navrátil (24 April 1867 – 23 December 1936) was a Czech violinist, composer and music educator. He was born in Prague, and studied in Vienna under Guido Adler and František Ondříček, afterward working as a composer and music teacher in ...

. Winkler returned to the music school in Kharkiv as Professor of Piano from 1890 to 1896. On the recommendation of Leschetizky, he was invited to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

to teach at the Conservatory, where he had piano classes from 1896 to 1924, becoming Professor of Piano in 1909.Энциклопедия «Немцы России» (Encyclopedia of German Russians): Alexander Winkler
The young

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

was one of his pupils from 1905. From 1907, Winkler was music critic for the German-language newspaper ''St. Petersburgische Zeitung''. Like many professors of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, he was a member of the

Belyayev circle The Belyayev circle () was a society of Russian musicians who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia between 1885 and 1908, and whose members included Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Glazunov, Vladimir Stasov, Anatoly Lyadov, Alexander Ossovsky, W ...

, a creative group of musicians led by

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. At the time, his name was spelled , which he romanized as Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakow; the BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian is used for his name here; ALA-LC system: , ISO 9 system: .. (18 March 1844 – 2 ...

, which certainly affected his compositional work. In 1924, Winkler emigrated to France, where from 1925 he taught at the

University of Franche-Comté The Marie and Louis Pasteur University (UMLP), formerly known as University of Franche-Comté, is a pluridisciplinary public French university located in Besançon, Franche-Comté, with decentralized campuses in Belfort, Montbéliard, Vesoul and ...

in Besançon. Apart from a few songs, Winkler composed only instrumental music, notably compositions for piano and chamber music. He made piano transcriptions for a number of works by

Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka ( rus, links=no, Михаил Иванович Глинка, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, mʲɪxɐˈil ɨˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲinkə, Ru-Mikhail-Ivanovich-Glinka.ogg; ) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognit ...

Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov ( – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 and 1928 and was instrumental i ...

and Rimsky-Korsakov including ''

Capriccio Espagnol ''Capriccio espagnol'', Op. 34, is the common Western title for a five movement orchestral suite, based on Spanish folk melodies, composed by the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1887. It received its premiere on 31 October 1887, in S ...

'' and the ballet ''

Raymonda ''Raymonda'' () is a ballet, grand ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Alexander Glazunov (his Opus number, opus 57) and libretto by Lydia Pashkova. ''Raymonda'' was creat ...

'', as well as orchestral works by

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, scientific transliteration: ''Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin''; also transliterated variously as Skriabin, Skryabin, and (in French) Scriabine. The composer himselused the French spelling "Scriabine" which was a ...

Selected works

;Orchestra * ''En Bretagne'' (В Бретани), Ouverture-fantaisie sur 3 chants bretons (Fantasy Overture on 3 Breton Songs), Op. 13 (1908) * ''Variations sur un thème russe'' (Variations on Russian Theme; Вариации на русскую тему), Op. 16 (published 1912) * ''Dramatic Overture'' (Драматическая увертюра) ;Concertante * ''Air finnois varié'' (Variations on a Finnish Air; Вариации на финскую тему) for violin and orchestra, Op. 18 (1912) * ''Dernier Printemps'' (The Last Spring; Последняя весна) for cello and orchestra (1935) ;Chamber music * String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 7 (1897) * Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 8 (1899) * String Quartet No. 2 in D major, Op. 9 (1901) * Sonata in C minor for viola (or violin) and piano, Op. 10 (1902) * String Quintet in E minor for 2 violins, 2 violas and cello, Op. 11 (1906) * String Quartet No. 3 in B major, Op. 14 (1909) * Piano Trio in F minor, Op. 17 (1912) * Sonata in D minor for cello and piano, Op. 19 (c.1920); dedicated to

* Piano Quintet in D minor, Op. 29 (1933) * ''Deux morceaux'' (2 Pieces) for viola and piano, Op. 31 (1933) :# Méditation élégiaque :# La toupie: Scène d'enfant ;Piano * ''Variations et fugue sur un thème original'' (Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme), Op. 1 * ''Deux morceaux'' (2 Pieces; Две пьесы), Op. 3 (1894) :# Gavotte :# Impromptu à la Schumann * ''Drei Klavierstücke im alten Stile'' (3 Piano Pieces in Old Style), Op. 4 (1895) :# Sarabande :# Gigue :# Minuetto * ''Trois morceaux'' (3 Pieces; Три пьесы), Op. 6 (1897) :# Étude-humoresque :# Berceuse :# Valse-impromptu * ''Variations et fugue sur un thème de J. S. Bach'' (Variations and Fugue on a Theme by J. S. Bach; Вариации и фуга на тему И.-С. Баха) in E major for 2 pianos, Op. 12 (1906) * ''Trois morceaux'' (3 Pieces; Три пьесы), Op. 15 (1909) :# Prélude in D minor :# Caprice in C minor :# Étude in B minor * ''Au Cimetière: Passacaglia pour Piano en mode phrygien'' (At the Cemetery: Passacaglia for Piano in

Phrygian mode : The Phrygian mode (pronounced ) can refer to three different musical modes: the ancient Greek ''tonos'' or ''harmonia,'' sometimes called Phrygian, formed on a particular set of octave species or scales; the medieval Phrygian mode, and the m ...

) in D minor/D phrygian, Op. 23 ;Vocal * ''5 Mélodies'' for voice and piano, Op. 2 ;Literary * ''A Brief Guide to Basic Music Theory'' (Краткое руководство по элементарной теории музыки) (1895, Kharkiv)

Discography

* ''Russian Viola Sonatas'' – Eliesha Nelson (viola), Glen Inanga (piano); Sono Luminus DSL-92136 (2011) :: Sonata for viola and piano, Op. 10 :: ''Two Pieces'' for viola and piano, Op. 31 * ''Viola Incognita'' – Pavel Ciprys (viola), Daniel Wiesner (piano); RadioServis (Czech Radio) CR0386-2 (2012) :: Sonata for viola and piano, Op. 10

References

External links

*
Энциклопедия «Немцы России» (Encyclopedia of German Russians): Alexander Winkler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkler, Alexander Adolfovich 1865 births 1935 deaths Russian male composers Russian classical pianists Russian male classical pianists Musicians from Kharkiv Pupils of Theodor Leschetizky National University of Kharkiv alumni Russian people of German descent Academic staff of Saint Petersburg Conservatory Ukrainian emigrants to France