Boleslav Leopoldovich Yavorsky (russian: Болеслав Леопольдович Яворский; June 22, 1877,
Kharkiv – November 26, 1942
) was a Russian
musicologist, music teacher, administrator and
pianist.
Through his teachings and editorial positions he heavily influenced
Soviet music theory
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
.
[Damschroder, ''Music Theory from Zarlino to Schenker: A Bibliography and Guide'', p.386] However, outside Soviet circles, he has had little impact.
Biography
He studied at the
Moscow Conservatory under
Sergei Taneyev. He taught at the
Kiev Conservatory until 1919, the First Music
Tekhnikum A tekhnikum (russian: техникум) is a type of vocational school in the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, as well as in modern Russia, Ukraine and some other post-Soviet states.
The term was borrowed from 19th-century German education, where ...
in Moscow, which he founded, and the Moscow Conservatory.
He chaired the music section of
Narkompros from 1922 to 1930.
Yavorsky was a friend, mentor and confidant of the
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
and played an important role in the latter's development. He often used his influence to further Shostakovich's career.
[Fay, ''Shostakovich: A Life'', p. 27]
His students included
Rostislav Berberov,
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dukelsky (also known as Vernon Duke),
Alexei Fedorovich Kozlovsky,
Alexander Abramovich Krein,
Sergei Protopopov
Sergei Vladimirovich Protopopov (russian: Серге́й Владимирович Протопопов; , Moscow – 14 December 1954, Moscow) was a Russian avant-garde composer and music theorist.
Life
After studying medicine at the Mosco ...
,
Mykola Leontovych, Tatiana Grigorievna Shaborkina (director of the Scriabin Museum from 1941–84),
Maria Wiłkomirska, and Isaak Rabinovich, whose son Boleslav Rabinovich was named after Isaak's beloved teacher.
Notes
References
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Further reading
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1877 births
1942 deaths
Musicians from Kharkiv
People from Kharkov Governorate
Russian music theorists
Russian music educators
Russian classical pianists
Male classical pianists
R. Glier Kyiv Institute of Music alumni
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