Sergei Nikiforovich Vasilenko (, ''Sergey Nikiforovich Vasilenko''; – 11 March 1956) was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor and music teacher whose compositions showed a strong tendency towards mysticism. Vasilenko was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and originally studied law at

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

, but then changed direction and 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 ...

from 1896 to 1901 as a pupil of

Sergei Taneyev Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (, ; – ) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of musical composition, composition, music theorist and author. Life Taneyev was born in Vladimir, Russia, Vladimir, Vladimir Governorate, Russian Empire, to a cultur ...

and

Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov (; born Mikhail Mikhailovich Ivanov; 28 January 1935) was a Russia, Russian and Soviet Union, Soviet composer, conductor and teacher. His music ranged from the late-Romantic era into the 20th century era. ...

. From 1903 to 1904 he was the

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

of a private opera house in Moscow. For several years he was the organiser and conductor of the Historic Concerts of the Russian Musical Society. He then became a Professor at the Moscow Conservatory, where his students included

Aram Khachaturian Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet Armenians, Armenian composer and conductor. He is considered one of the leading Music of the Soviet Union#Classical music of the Soviet Union, Soviet composers. Khachaturian was born and rai ...

Nikolai Roslavets Nikolai Andreevich Roslavets (23 August 1944, also Mykola Andriiovych Roslavets) was a modernist composer active in the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. Roslavets was a convinced modernist and cosmopolitan thinker; his music was offic ...

Nikolai Rakov Nikolai Petrovich Rakov (, ''Nikolaj Petrovič Rakov''; , – 3 November 1990), was a Soviet violinist, composer, conductor, and academic at the Moscow Conservatory where he had studied. He composed mostly instrumental works, for orchestra, chambe ...

and

Aarre Merikanto Aarre Merikanto (29 June 1893 – 28 September 1958) was a Finnish composer. He was born in Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, the son of Elise "Liisa" Häyrynen (1869–1949) and the famous romantic composer, professor Oskar Merikanto (186 ...

. Vasilenko was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour as well as the title

People's Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, actors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achiev ...

. In 1947, he was awarded the Stalin Prize. He died in Moscow in 1956.

Selected works

Opera

*''Skazaniye o grade velikom Kitezhe i tikhom ozere Svetoyare'' (Tale of the Great City of Kitezh and the Quiet Lake Svetoyar) (1902; originally a cantata, Op. 5) *''Sïn solntsa'' (The Son of the Sun), Op. 63 (1929) *''Khristofor Kolumb'' (Christopher Columbus), Op. 80 (1933) *''Buran'' (The Snow Storm), Op. 98 (1939) *''Velikiy kanal'' (The Grand Canal), Op. 101 (1939) *''Suvorov'', Op. 102 (1942)

Ballet

*''In the Rays of the Sun'', Op. 17 (1925–26) *''Noya'', Op. 42 (1923) *''Joseph the Handsome'', Op. 50 (1925) *''Lola'', Op. 52 (1926) *''The Gypsies'', Op. 90 (1936; after

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

) *''The Frog Princess'', Op. 103 (1941) *''Mirandolina''

Choral

*Cantata ''Legend of the Great City of Kitezh and the Quiet Lake Svetoyar'', Op, 5 (later turned into an opera that anticipated

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 ...

's work on the same subject) *Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution, Op. 92 (1937)

Incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

' ''

Alcestis Alcestis (; Ancient Greek: Ἄλκηστις, ') or Alceste, was a princess in Greek mythology, known for her love of her husband. Her life story was told by pseudo-Apollodorus in his '' Bibliotheca'', and a version of her death and return from t ...

'' (written as a schoolboy) *other works

Orchestral

*''Three Bloody Battles'', Op. 1 (1900) *''Epic Poem'', Op. 4 (1900–03) *Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Op. 10 (1904–06) *''The Garden of Death'', symphonic poem after

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

, Op. 13 (1907–08) *''Sappho'', symphonic poem, Op. 14 (1909) *''Flight of the Witches'', symphonic poem, Op. 15 (1908–09) *''Au soleil'', symphonic poem, Op. 17 *''Fantastic Waltz'', Op. 18 (1912) *Symphony No. 2 in F major, Op. 22 *Suite on lute music of the 14th to 17th centuries, Op. 24 (1914) *''Zodiac'', suite on French themes of the 18th century, Op. 27 (1914) *''Exotic Suite'', Op. 29 (1915–16) *''Indian Suite'', Op. 42bis *''Chinese Suite'', No. 1, Op. 60 (1928) *''Turkmenian Suite'', Op. 68 (1931) *''Chinese Suite'', No. 2, Op. 70 (1931) *''Merry-go-round'', 8 Soviet dances, Op. 73 (1932) *''The Soviet East'', suite, Op. 75 (1932) *''Red Army Rhapsody'', Op. 77 (1932) *film music for

Boris Barnet Boris Vasilyevich Barnet (; 18 June 1902 – 8 January 1965) was a Soviet film director, actor and screenwriter of British heritage. He directed 27 films between 1927 and 1963. Barnet was awarded the title Merited Artist of the Russian Federa ...

's '' Outskirts'' (1933) *''Slavonic Rhapsody'' (1937)

Concertante

*Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 25 (1910–13) *Concerto for symphony orchestra and brass band (1928) *''Suite on Russian Folk Themes'', balalaika and accordion (1928) *Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, Op. 113 *Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor, Op. 128

Chamber

*String Quartet in A, Op. 3 (c. 1901) *Sonata in D minor for viola and piano, Op. 46 (1923); version for violin and piano (1955) *String Quartet in E minor, Op. 58 (c. 1928) *Quartet on Turkmenian Themes, for flute, oboe (English horn), clarinet, bassoon and percussion ad lib., Op. 65 (1932) *Piano Trio in A, Op. 74 (1932) *''Japanese Suite'' for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, xylophone and piano, Op. 66a (1938) *''Chinese Sketches'', woodwind, Op. 78 (1938) *''Quartet on American Themes'', woodwind, Op. 79 (1938)

Military band

*''March of the Red Army'', Op. 64 (1929) *''Fantasy on Revolutionary Songs of the West'', Op. 71 (1931)

Other

*songs (including settings of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

, Sinhalese, Indian and Japanese tunes) *folksong arrangements (including Negro and Turkmenian melodies) *piano pieces

Recordings

*Sergei Vasilenko: Viola and Piano Music (Complete) - Viola Sonata, Op. 46 / Lullaby / 4 Pieces on Themes of Lute Music of the 16-17th Centuries, Op. 35 / Sleeping River / Oriental Dance, Op. 47 / Suite Zodiakus I.A.S, Op. 27 / 4 Pieces (1953) - Elena Artamonova (viola) and Nicholas Walker (piano).

Toccata Classics Toccata Classics is an independent British classic music label founded in 2005. The founder of Toccata Classics is Martin Anderson, a music journalist. The label was founded primarily to promote unrecorded works by lesser-known composers, inc ...

TOCC0127, released 2011 *"The Russian Connection" - Hexagon Ensemble. Etcetera Records KTC1246, released 2001 - includes Sergei Vasilenko: Quartet on Turkmenian Themes Op.65

References

External links

Brief biography and list of works
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vassilenko, Sergei Nikiforovich 1872 births 1956 deaths Soviet composers Conductors (music) from the Russian Empire Composers from Moscow Imperial Moscow University alumni Moscow Conservatory alumni Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory People's Artists of the RSFSR Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Composers from the Russian Empire Pupils of Sergei Taneyev Soviet conductors (music) Soviet male composers Soviet music educators Soviet opera composers Burials at Vvedenskoye Cemetery Soviet male classical composers