Alexandre Mikhaylovich Barjansky () (

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

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 ...

– 1961

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

) was a Russian virtuoso

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

Life

He was born in Odessa, a distant cousin of Adolf Barjansky (c. 1850 – 1900 Odessa, Russian Empire), a composer of classical music for solo piano and chamber music ensembles in the Romantic tradition, and his son, also a virtuoso cellist, Serge Barjansky. Among his early concert appearances were the Lalo's Concerto with the Wiener Konzertverein on 4 March 1910 and in 1911 a recital with the pianist Arthur Schnabel in Prague Barjansky was the dedicatee of

Ernest Bloch Ernest Bloch (; ; July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a Swiss-born American composer. Bloch was a preeminent artist in his day, and left a lasting legacy. He is recognized as one of the greatest Swiss composers in history. Several of his most no ...

's ''

Schelomo ''Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque for Violoncello and Orchestra'' was the final work of composer Ernest Bloch's ''Jewish Cycle''. ''Schelomo'' (the Hebrew form of "Solomon"), which was written in 1915 to 1916, premiered on May 3, 1917, played by ce ...

'' and gave the first performance of the ''

Cello Concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instru ...

'' by

Frederick Delius file:Fritz Delius (1907).jpg, Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius (born Fritz Theodor Albert Delius; ; 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934) was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prospero ...

in Vienna in 1923. Barjansky married the sculpturess Catherine Barjansky in 1915 in Lausanne. They separated in 1940. There is much biographical material concerning the Barjanskys in her autobiography ‘Portraits with Backgrounds’ (London/Geoffrey Bles 1948). Barjansky often played chamber music with

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

and with

Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium Elisabeth of Bavaria (Elisabeth Gabriele Valérie Marie; 25 July 187623 November 1965) was Queen of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 to 17 February 1934 as the wife of King Albert I of Belgium, Albert I, and a duchess in Bavaria by birth. Sh ...

, both of whom were friends of Catherine Barjansky, the latter being her pupil. In ''Delius As I Knew Him'',

Eric Fenby Eric William Fenby OBE (22 April 190618 February 1997) was an English composer, conductor, pianist, organist and teacher who is best known for being Frederick Delius's amanuensis from 1928 to 1934. He helped Delius realise a number of works t ...

writes of Barjansky: "I was not prepared to find so unusual-looking a man. He was of medium height, pale and thin, but he had a striking head, with high forehead and a mass of long bushy hair. I perceived him to be an extremely likable fellow, and one of those rare musicians who give the impression of being musical." And Jelka Delius wrote: "He looks extraordinary when he plays, so ecstatic with a delicate, sensitive face and hair like an Italian primitive."

References

External links

* of Barjansky playing Handel {{DEFAULTSORT:Barjansky, Alexandre Cellists from the Russian Empire 1880s births 1946 deaths Soviet cellists