Boris Vladimirovich Asafyev (russian: link=no, Бори́с Влади́мирович Аса́фьев; 27 January 1949) was a Russian and Soviet composer, writer, musicologist, musical critic and one of founders of Soviet
musicology. He is the dedicatee of Prokofiev's First Symphony. He was born in Saint Petersburg.
Asafyev had a strong influence on Soviet music. His compositions include
ballets
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form o ...
, operas, symphonies, concertos and chamber music. His ballets include ''
Flames of Paris
''Flames of Paris'' or ''The Flames of Paris'' (russian: Пла́мя Пари́жа) is a full-length ballet in four acts, choreographed by Vasily Vainonen with the stage director Sergei Radlov to music by Boris Asafyev based on songs of the F ...
'', based on the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
, and ''
The Fountain of Bakhchisarai'', which was first performed in 1934, and was performed at the Mariinsky Theatre in
St. Petersburg in 2006.
His writings, under the name Igor Glebov, include ''The Book about Stravinsky'' and ''Glinka'' (for which he was awarded the
Stalin Prize in 1948).
Selected works

;Opera
* ''The Cashier's Wife''
* ''Minin and Pozharsky''
* ''The Girl without a Dowry''
;Ballets
* ''The Fairy Gift'' (1910)
* ''White Lily'' (1911)
* ''
Flames of Paris
''Flames of Paris'' or ''The Flames of Paris'' (russian: Пла́мя Пари́жа) is a full-length ballet in four acts, choreographed by Vasily Vainonen with the stage director Sergei Radlov to music by Boris Asafyev based on songs of the F ...
'' (1931)
* ''
The Fountain of Bakhchisarai'' (1936)
* ''The Prisoner of the Caucasus'' (1938)
* ''The Rustic Lady''
* ''The Stone Guest'' (1946)
;Orchestra
* 5 Symphonies
* Concerto for clarinet and orchestra (1939)
* Concerto for guitar and chamber orchestra (1939)
* Concerto for piano and orchestra (1939)
;Chamber music
* String Quartet (1940)
* Sonata for viola solo (1938)
* Sonata for cello and piano (1935)
* Sonata for trumpet and piano (1939)
* Sonatina for oboe and piano (1939)
* ''Variations'' for horn and piano (1940)
See also
*
:Ballets by Boris Asafyev
References
Further reading
*
**
External links
*
1884 births
1949 deaths
Musicians from Saint Petersburg
People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd
Russian ballet composers
Russian male classical composers
Russian music critics
Russian music theorists
Russian musicologists
Russian opera composers
Soviet male composers
Soviet musicologists
Soviet opera composers
20th-century musicologists
20th-century Russian male musicians
Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni
Saint Petersburg Conservatory academic personnel
Moscow Conservatory academic personnel
Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences
People's Artists of the USSR
People's Artists of the RSFSR
Stalin Prize winners
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
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Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery