Aleksandr Ivanovich Orlov (russian: Александр Иванович Орлов) (
St. Petersburg 18 August 1873 -
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
October 10, 1948) was a Russian opera conductor, and
People's Artist of the RSFSR (1945). He was the first head of the
Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra of All-Union Radio (1930–1937).
Biography
Orlov studied violin at the
St. Petersburg Conservatory, under P.A. Krasnokutske, and conducting under P.F. Juon in Berlin. From 1902 he worked as a symphonic and opera conductor in the cities of southern Russia. From 1912-1917 he was conductor of the Symphony Orchestra under
Serge Koussevitzky
Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevit ...
in Moscow, and at the same time implemented a number of opera productions, 1914-1924. From 1925-1929 Orlov was Principal Conductor of
Kiev State Academic Ukrainian Opera
The Kyiv Opera group was formally established in the summer of 1867, and is the third oldest in Ukraine, after Odessa Opera and Lviv Opera.
The Kyiv Opera Company perform at the National Opera House of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko in ...
, and a professor of the
Kiev Conservatory. His students included N. Rachlin. From 1930 Orlov headed the
Grand Symphony Orchestra of All-Union Radio
The Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra is a Russian classical music radio orchestra established in 1930. It was founded as the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, and served as the official symphony for the Soviet All-Union Radio network.
History
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, and premiered many works by Soviet composers, and directing opera performances on radio and at the
Moscow Conservatory.
He conducted
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name:
* Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor
** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England
** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...
's first recorded performance of Beethoven's
Violin Concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
in 1946.
[The gramophone: 1997 Lastly, the earliest generally available recording of Yehudi Menuhin playing Beethoven'^ Violin Concerto, taken down live in Moscow in 1 946 under the baton of Alexander Orlov]
Selected Opera Recordings
* 1937 - "Eugene Onegin" (Onegin - Panteleimon Nortsov, Lensky - Ivan Kozlovsky, Tatiana - Elena Kruglikova)
* 1946 - "Lakme" sung in Russian (Lakmé - Hope Kazantsev, Gerald - Sergei Lemeshev)
* 1947 - "La Traviata" sung in Russian (Violetta - Elizabeth Shumskaya, Alfredo Germont - Ivan Kozlovsky, Germont - Paul Lisician)
* 1948 - "Eugene Onegin" (Onegin - Andrey Ivanov, Lensky -
Ivan Kozlovsky, Tatiana - Elena Kruglikova)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orlov, Aleksandr Ivanovich
1873 births
1948 deaths
Russian conductors (music)
Russian male conductors (music)
Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni