Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Andrei Mikhaylovich Volkonsky (also ''Andrey, André, Mikhailovich, Michailovich, Volkonski, Volkonskiy'') (; 14 February 1933 – 16 September 2008) was a Russian

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 ...

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

and

harpsichordist A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord. Harpsichordists may play as soloists, as accompanists, as chamber musicians, or as members of an orchestra, or some combination of these roles. Solo harpsichordists may play unaccompanied son ...

. He was a key figure in Early Music Revival in Russia.

Biography

A descendant of Volkonsky, Russian aristocratic princely family in

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

, he was born in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

in 1933. As a child he played his improvisations to

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

. Then he studied piano at the

Conservatoire de Musique de Genève The Conservatoire de musique de Genève is a music school in Geneva, Switzerland. The Conservatory hosts 2,400 non-professional students. Since 2009, the professional courses have been led by the Geneva University of Music (''Haute école de ...

with

Johnny Aubert Johnny Aubert (born 31 May 1980) is a French enduro rider and two-time world-champion. A former motocross rider, Aubert debuted in the World Enduro Championship riding for Yamaha in 2006. He claimed the world championship in the E2 class in t ...

and with the legendary

Dinu Lipatti Constantin "Dinu" Lipatti (; 2 December 1950) was a Romanian classical pianist and composer whose career was cut short by his death from effects related to Hodgkin's disease at age 33. He was elected posthumously to the Romanian Academy. He comp ...

. The Volkonsky family resettled in Moscow in 1947. From 1950 to 1954 he studied at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

under Yuri Shaporin, but was expelled for breaking some minor disciplinary rules. In 1956 Volkonsky began the career of a

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

and organ player. He pioneered performing renaissance and

baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Classical music, Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance music, Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Class ...

, which had hitherto not been played in the USSR. In 1965 he founded an ensemble of early music, called " The Ensemble Madrigal". He was among the first Soviet composers who began experimenting with

twelve-tone The twelve-tone technique—also known as dodecaphony, twelve-tone serialism, and (in British usage) twelve-note composition—is a method of musical composition. The technique is a means of ensuring that all 12 notes of the chromatic scale ...

and serial techniques. An early work in this style was his piano suite "Musica Stricta" (1956). His works greatly influenced his colleagues. Composing such music at that time was an act of courage: it was a protest against the suppression of freedom, and specifically against the requirement that the composers in Soviet Russia follow the narrowly prescribed doctrines of the Socialist Realism. It is not surprising that his music, attempting at a real renewal and enrichment of the musical language in Russia, was banned from performance. Volkonsky said that he had been fighting for 25 years to establish and preserve his artistic individuality in Moscow before requesting an

exit visa A visa (; also known as visa stamp) is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on the duration of the foreigner's stay, area ...

in December 1972. :: ''"The next day I was expelled from the Union of Composers. All my concerts were cancelled. The record company was instructed not to release the records I had made…" (Andrei Volkonsky)'' But he was not allowed to leave the country immediately. Five months of suspense and unemployment followed, during which he hounded the passport office and sold most of his belongings, including scores and books, to support himself. :: ''"The Soviet authorities finally had the intelligence and wisdom to release the composer who was of no use to them in the fulfilment of their music five-year plans, who could not compose that only kind of music which was allowed in the Soviet Union… I was just a speck of dirt in the grand marble palace of the Soviet Culture." (Andrei Volkonsky)''''The New York Times'', 5 June 1973. Andrei Volkonsky emigrated to the West in 1973. He first returned to Geneva, where he was born, and later settled in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

(in the South of France) where he died at the age of 75. He was married (1954–1960) to Estonian poet and children's book author Helvi Jürisson. They had a son, Peeter Volkonski (Piotr Andreevitch Volkonsky), an Estonian actor and rock-musician.

Ancestry

Selected works

Orchestral

* Concerto for Orchestra (1953) * Capriccio for orchestra (1954) * ''Serenade to an Insect'' for chamber orchestra (1959) * ''Replica'' for small orchestra (1970) * ''Immobile'' for piano and orchestra (1978)

Sonata

*Piano Sonata in B Major (1949) *Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 8 (1955–56)

Cantata

* ''Rus'', cantata on text by

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the Grotesque#In literature, grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works "The Nose (Gogol short story), ...

(1952) * ''The Face of Peace'', cantata on text by

Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...

(1952)

Voice

* ''Mirror Suite'' for soprano and 5 players: Flute, Violin, Guitar, Organ and Percussion on text by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

(1960) * ''Lamentations of Schchaza'' for soprano, Cor Anglais, Violin, Marimba, Vibrafono, and Cembalo on text by Schchaza (1961) * ''Concerto Itinérant'' for soprano, violin percussion and 26 instruments, text from the Rubayiat of

Omar Khayyám Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīshābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) ( Persian: غیاث الدین ابوالفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابورﻯ), commonly known as Omar Khayyam (), was ...

(1967) * ''Lied'' for 4 voices (1974) * ''7 Sacred Songs'' for three male voices (solo or choir) (arrangement of Russian-orthodoxe liturgical songs) (1984) * ''Was noch lebt'' for mezzo soprano and string trio on text by

Johannes Bobrowski Johannes Bobrowski (originally ''Johannes Konrad Bernhard Bobrowski''; 9 April 1917 – 2 September 1965) was a German lyric poet, narrative writer, adaptor and essayist. Life Bobrowski was born on 9 April 1917Bobrowski, Johannes (1984). ''S ...

(1985) * ''Psalm 148'' for three voices (solo or choir), organ and timpani (1989)

Chorus

* ''Two Japanese Songs'' for chorus, electric sound and percussion (1957)

Piano

* Piano Quintet, Op. 5 (1954) * Fantasia for Piano (1955) * ''Musica Stricta (fantasia ricercata)'', Op. 11 for piano (1957)

Ensemble

* String Quartet, Op. 6 (1955) * ''Music for 12 Instruments'', Op. 12 (1957) * ''Jeu à Trois'' for flute, violin and harpsichord (1962) * ''Les mailles du Temps'' for 3 instrumental groups (1970) * ''Maqam'' for

tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...

and harpsichord (1974) * ''Carrefour'' for ensemble (1992)

Film music

* Novye pokhozhdeniya Kota v Sapogakh (1958)/Новые похождения кота в сапогах (as A. Volkonsky) * Marya-iskusnitsa (1960)/Марья-искусница/Maria, the Wonderful Weaver/The Magic Weaver (USA) * Priklyucheniya Krosha (1961)/Приключения Кроша/Adventures of Krosh * 3+2 (1962)/Три плюс два/Three Plus Two * Across the Cemetery (1963)/Через кладбище * Voyna pod kryshami (1967)/Война под крышами/The War Under the Roofs * Dead Season (1968)/Мёртвый сезон * Mogila Lva (1971)/Могила льва/The Lion's Grave * Pereprava (1987)/Переправа

Recordings

*CTH 2502: ANDRE VOLKONSKY Suite de los espejos/Spiegel-Suite/Mirror Suite/La Suite de miroirs Federico Garcia Lorca (1959) :1. Symbol 1:15 :2. Der grofte Spiegel 0:15 :3. Reflex 1:18 :4. Strahlen 0:19 :5. Widerhall 1:01 :6. Shinto - Weg der Gotter 1:16 :7. Die Augen 6:12 :8. Initium 0:50 :9. Schlaflied fur den schlafrigen Spiegel 5:16 Les Plaintes de Shchaza/Die Klagen der Shchaza/Laments of Shchaza (1960) :10. Lento ma non troppo 2:19 :11. Presto 2:05 :12. Lento rubato 6:38 :13. Aussi vite que possible 5:07 Concert itinerant/Das wandernde Konzert/Wandering Concerto 30:33 (Omar Hayyam) (1964–67) :14. (1-9) Lydia Davydova (Sopran), Andre Volkonsky (Orgel) und Solisten des Symphony Orchestra of Leningrad Philharmonic, Leitung: Igor Blazhkov. Aufnahme: 1967 (10-13) Lydia Davydova (Sopran), Andre Volkonsky (Cembalo) und Solisten des Symphony Orchestra of Leningrad Philharmonic, Leitung: Igor Blazhkov. Aufnahme: 1965 (14) Tatiana Marushchak (Sopran), Grigory Sandomirsky (Violine), Natalia Pshenichnikova (Flote), Mark Pekarsky Percussion Ensemble, Collegium Musicum Chamber Orchestra, Leitung: Timur Mynbaev Live-Aufnahme beim, Alternativa?" Festival Moskau im Oktober 1989 :Bella, CD, ADD, 1965-1989

References

External links

*
Ernst Kuhn, BerlinCD information.Listen toPhoto with Yuri KholopovPrince Peeter Volkonsky (photo)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volkonsky, Andrei Alumni of the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève Russian male composers Soviet film score composers Male film score composers

Andrei Andrei, Andrey or Andrej (in Cyrillic script: Андрэй, Андрей or Андреј) is a form of Andreas/Ἀνδρέας in Slavic languages and Romanian. People with the name include: * Andrei of Polotsk (–1399), Lithuanian nobleman *An ...

Russian harpsichordists Swiss people of Russian descent 1933 births 2008 deaths Musicians from Geneva 20th-century Russian male musicians Nobility from the Russian Empire Moscow Conservatory alumni