Baron Boris Alexandrovich Fitinhoff-Schell (, tr. ) ( in

Morshansk Morshansk () is a town in Tambov Oblast, Russia, located on the Tsna River ( Oka's basin) north of Tambov. Population: 44,000 (1970). History The exact origins of Morshansk are unknown; however, documents mention a populated place in this ...

– in St. Petersburg, Russia) was a Russian composer of

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

descent.

Biography

Fitinhoff-Schell was born to Baltic German noble Baron Alexander Otto von Vietinghoff genannt Scheel and Yelisevet Pavlovna Yazykova. The Vietinghoff family, was considered part of the

Uradel (, German: "ancient nobility"; adjective or ) is a genealogical term introduced in late 18th-century Germany to distinguish those families whose noble rank can be traced to the 14th century or earlier. The word stands opposed to '' Briefadel'' ...

(or old nobility), the family was of

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

n origin, originating in

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

. The Baltic branch had moved to the

Baltics The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

since the 14th Century. Even though Boris’ father was a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, he was baptised an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

, because his mother was a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

. Fitinhoff-Schell was trained 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 Field and Henselt, and was a classmate of

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

's. His most noted work are the ballets '' The Haarlem Tulip'' (1887) and ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' (1893), composed for the

Imperial Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet () is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's ...

of St. Petersburg. He also scored four operas for the St. Petersburg Imperial Opera, which were commissioned by

Ivan Vsevolozhsky Ivan Alexandrovich Vsevolozhsky (; 1835–1909) was the Director of the Imperial Theatres in Russia from 1881 to 1898 and director of the Hermitage from 1899 to his death in 1909. Vsevolozhsky ran the Imperial Theatres with a determination f ...

, director of the Imperial Theatres.Opera Glass
/ref> His ''Wedding March'', scored especially for the wedding of

Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

and Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna is still occasionally heard. Fitinhoff-Schell is also noted for his ''Fantastic Overture'' to his opera ''

Mazeppa Mazepa or Mazeppa is the surname of Ivan Mazepa, a Ukrainian hetman made famous worldwide by a poem by Lord Byron. It may refer to: Artistic works Poems * Mazeppa (poem), "Mazeppa" (poem) (1819), a dramatic poem by Lord Byron * "Mazeppa", a poem b ...

'' (1859, libretto by Prince Grigory Kugushev), in which whole-tone scales were profusely employed.

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

greatly appreciated this piece, describing its effect as ''" ... terrifying to all long and protruding ears."'' Liszt himself made use of the whole-tone scale in his ''Divina Commedia'', illustrating the Inferno, and he used it systematically in his posthumously published organ and late piano pieces.

Works

Operas

*''Mazeppa'' (1859) *''Tamara'' (1886) *''Don Juan de Tenorio'' (1888) *''Mary Stuart'' (never performed) *''Heliodora'' (never performed)

Ballets

*'' The Haarlem Tulip'' (1885) *''

'' (1893)

References

1829 births 1901 deaths Russian ballet composers Russian opera composers Russian male opera composers 19th-century male musicians from the Russian Empire Barons of the Russian Empire Composers from the Russian Empire Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire Boris Fitinhof-Schell Moscow Conservatory alumni {{russia-composer-stub