Alexander Abramovich Krein (; 20 October 1883 in

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

– 25 April 1951 in Staraya Ruza, Moscow

Oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdo ...

) was a Soviet composer.

Background

The Krein family was steeped in the klezmer tradition; his father Abram (who moved to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

from Lithuania in 1870) was a noted violinist. All of the seven Krein brothers received their first musical training from him and became musicians; Alexander and Grigori made names for themselves as composers, David gained a strong reputation as a violinist. Of the three Krein family composers, Alexander, his brother Grigori, and Grigori's son Julian, it is Alexander who composed the most music and thus to whom the most attention has been paid. After decades of posthumous neglect, however, his very name seems to have disappeared from international reference books.

Studies and career

In 1896, at the early age of 14, Alexander Krein entered the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

where his studies included cello classes with Alexander von Glehn and composition lessons with

Sergei Taneyev Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Тане́ев, ; – ) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of composition, music theorist and author. Life Taneyev was born in Vladimir, Vladimir Governorate, Russia ...

and Boleslav Yavorsky. His first works were published by

P. Jurgenson P. Jurgenson (in Russian: П. Юргенсон) was, in the early twentieth century, the largest publisher of classical sheet music in Russia. History Founded in 1861, the firm — in its original form, or as it was amalgamated in 1918 with ...

in 1901. During the years immediately prior to the

1917 Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of governm ...

, he was on the faculty of the People's Conservatory in Moscow. In 1917, he was appointed as director of the artistic wing of the Muzo-Narkompros, the music section of a newly formed ministry of arts and education. Throughout the 1920s, Krein was widely regarded as the leader of a Jewish national school in Russia (which included his brother Grigori and his nephew Julian). Among those he influenced were minor composers such as Sinovii Feldman. After the formation of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, he held a variety of official and semi-official music administration posts. He died April 1951 in Staraya Ruza. His son, Alexander Kron, was a Soviet playwright.

Style

Krein's pioneering spirit had led him to incorporate the intonations and styles of both sacred and secular

Jewish music Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish people. There exist both traditions of religious music, as sung at the synagogue and domestic prayers, and of secular music, such as klezmer. While some elements of Jewish music may originate ...

into a relatively advanced idiom that was as influenced by

French impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

as it was by the music of his friend Alexander Scriabin.Jonathan Powell. 2003. Liner notes of the CD ''Songs from the Ghetto'' on ASV / Sanctuary Classics DCA1154. Krein's own Jewish heritage was a constant source of inspiration; there are a number of instrumental works whose titles bear quite obvious witness to this, such as the Caprice Hebraique, Op. 24, and the Jewish Sketches for clarinet and string quartet. In 1921, he composed

Kaddish Kaddish or Qaddish or Qadish ( arc, קדיש "holy") is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different version ...

for tenor soloist, choir, and orchestra. From the mid-'20s on, he also wrote music for plays given by Moscow's Jewish Drama Theater. There is also a large amount of music that is either purely classical in design or Soviet in nature. In the latter category are works like the revolutionary opera Zagmuk (1930), the Threnody in Memory of

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

(1925), and the somewhat amusingly titled U.S.S.R., Shock Brigade of the World Proletariat (1925).

Selected works

* ''Prologue'' for viola and piano, op. 2a (1902–1911/1927) * ''Five Préludes'' for piano, op. 3 (1903–1906) * ''Poème Quator'' for string quartet, op. 9 (1909) * ''Jewish Sketches'' for clarinet and string quartet, op. 12 (1914, reprinted 2008 by Edition Silvertrust) * ''Elegy'' for violin, cello and piano, op. 16 (1913) * ''3 Lieder des Ghetto'' (3 Songs from the Ghetto) for soprano and piano, op. 23 :# Sei mir Schwesterlein (1916) :#Wo bist du? (1917) :#Eine Träne (1915–1916) * ''Caprice Hébraïque'', op. 24 (1917) * ''Kaddisch'', Symphonic Cantata for tenor, mixed choir and large orchestra, op. 33 (1921–1922) * Symphony No.1 for large orchestra, op. 35 (1922–1925) * Piano Sonata (1925) * ''2 Hebräische Lieder'' (2 Hebrew Songs) for voice and piano, op. 39 (1926) * ''Trauer-Ode to Lenin'' for Mixed Choir and large orchestra, op. 40 (1925–1926) * ''Aria'' for violin and piano, op. 41 (1927) * 2 Pieces on Turkish Themes, for solo piano Op.46 (1941) * ''Ornamente'' (Орнаменти, Три песни без слов), 3 Songs without Words for voice and piano, op. 42 (1924/1927) * ''Jewish Melody'' for cello and piano, op. 43 (1928) * ''Zagmuk'', opera (1929–1930) * ''

Laurencia ''Laurencia'' is a genus of red algae that grow in temperate and tropical shore areas, in littoral to sublittoral habitats, at depths up to . Description ''Laurencia'' species have a thallus that is erect or decumbent with distichous, whorle ...

'', ballet (1939)

References

External links

Alexander Krein 3 Sketches on Hebrew Themes for Clarinet Quintet, Op.12 Soundbites and discussion
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krein, Alexander 1883 births 1951 deaths Musicians from Nizhny Novgorod People from Nizhegorodsky Uyezd Russian Jews Soviet Jews 20th-century classical composers Jewish classical composers Russian opera composers Male opera composers Russian ballet composers Russian male classical composers Soviet composers Soviet male composers 20th-century Russian male musicians Moscow Conservatory alumni