Nikolai Lopatnikoff (born Russian, Николай Львович Лопатников/Nikolai Lwowitsch Lopatnikow; 16 March 1903 in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

- 7 October 1976 in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

) was a Russian-American composer, music teacher and university lecturer. He composed some works of

neoclassical music Neoclassicism in music was a twentieth-century trend, particularly current in the interwar period, in which composers sought to return to aesthetic precepts associated with the broadly defined concept of "classicism", namely order, balance, c ...

. These pieces featured fast, furious '' Allegro molto'' that included in some cases

snare SNARE proteins – " SNAP REceptor" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts, more than 60 members in mammalian cells, and some numbers in plants. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to mediate vesicle fu ...

drumming and also soft

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

music. These style alternate fast and furious with quiet and solemn, ''

legato In music performance and notation, legato (; Italian for "tied together"; French ''lié''; German ''gebunden'') indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and connected. That is, the player makes a transition from note to note wit ...

'' strings giving way to a quiet passage that ends with a loud drum.

Life

Europe

Lopatnikoff studied music theory and piano at the Conservatory of St. Petersburg, until he fled the Russian Revolution with his family in 1917, landing in

Helsinki, Finland Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city' ...

. He continued his studies at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki until 1920. By 1921 his family had settled in

Heidelberg, Germany Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

where he began studying engineering at the University of Karlsruhe (Technischen Hochschule Karlsruhe), graduating in 1927. At the same time he was studying composition with Ernst Toch, Hermann Grabner and Willi Rehberg at the conservatory in Mannheim ( Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim) and also in Berlin. During this time, he composed the Piano Concerto No. 1 Op. 5, the 2nd Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 15 and Symphony No. 1, Op. 12. This symphony was performed by many orchestras in Europe and the USA and in 1932 by the Philadelphia Orchestra played on tour. For the "German Chamber Music Baden-Baden 1927", a follow-up event of the Donaueschingen Music Days 1926, he composed as well as George Antheil pieces for mechanical piano "Welte-Mignon".

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

, who heard this performance on 16 July 1927, acquainted

Sergei 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 ...

aware of it and so initiated a contact that would be decisive for Lopatnikoff's future. Koussevitzky engaged Lopatnikoff to orchestrate the pieces and offered cooperation. As a result, a long-standing connection between the two came about, which led to the premier of numerous Lopatnikoff works by the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

America

After working in the 1930s in Berlin, and beginning 1936 in London, mainly as a composer, he emigrated to the United States in 1939. He served as a professor of composition at the

Hartt School of Music The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford located in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, that offers degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. Founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and ...

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, the Westchester Conservatory of Music in

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State , su ...

and ultimately at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, now called

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

. In 1944 he became an American citizen. He taught music theory and composition at Carnegie Mellon until his retirement in 1969. He died at his home in the

Squirrel Hill Squirrel Hill is a residential neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The city officially divides it into two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost universally treated a ...

neighborhood of Pittsburgh in 1976. He and his wife, poet Sara Henderson Hay, are buried at Pittsburgh's

Homewood Cemetery Homewood Cemetery is a historic urban cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Point Breeze and is bordered by Frick Park, the neighborhood of Squirrel Hill, and the smaller Smithfield Cemetery. It was established i ...

. His archive is located in the Library of Congress.

Works

* Four Little Piano Pieces, Op. 1 * Prelude and Fugue, Op. 2 * Prelude to a Drama for Large Orchestra, Op. 3 (ca. 1922) * First Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in C major, Op. 5a, premiered in Karlsruhe in 1927 * Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 5b * Deuxième Quatuor, Quartet No. 2, Op. 6 * Deuxième Quatuor en ut pour deux Violons, Alto et Violoncelle, Op. 6a; Leipzig: MP Belaieff 1933 * Sonatine pour piano, Op. 7 (1928); Paris: Edition Russe de Musique, 1928 * Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 8; Berlin: Edition Russe de Musique * Sonata for violin, piano et tambour militaire, Op. 9; Berlin: Edition Russe de Musique, 1928 * Introduction et Scherzo (for orchestra), Op. 10; Paris: Edition Russe de Musique * Sonate pour Violoncelle et Piano (Sonata for cello and piano), Op. 11; Paris: Edition Russe de Musique * Symphony No. 1, Op. 12; Mainz: Schott * Deux Danses ironiques, pour piano, Op. 13; Paris: Edition Russe de Musique * Second Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 15 (My parents dedicated); Mainz: Schott 1950 * 5 contrasts for Piano (Five Contrasts), Op. 16; Mainz: Schott 1950 * 3 Pieces for Violin and Piano (Three Pieces for Violin and Piano), Op. 17, Mainz: Schott oJ * Dialogues: Five Pieces for Piano, Op. 18 (1934); Mainz: Schott undated. * Danton, opera in three acts, Op. 20 (by Georg Büchner ) * Danton Suite, Op. 21 * Variations for Piano (Variations for Piano), Op. 22; Mainz: Schott 1950 * Mädchenlied; Abendfrieden; Evening transition; Good night ...; I noticed ...; In April. * Piano Trio (Trio en la mineur pour piano, violin and cello), Op. 23 * Symphony No. 2, Op. 24 * Violin Concerto, Op. 26; New York:

Associated Music Publishers G. Schirmer, Inc. is an American classical music publishing company based in New York City, founded in 1861. The oldest active music publisher in the United States, Schirmer publishes sheet music for sale and rental, and represents some well-know ...

, 1944 * Sinfonietta, Op. 27; New York: Associated Music Publishers, 1949 * Opus sinfonicum (for orchestra), Op. 28; New York: Leeds Music Corporation, 1951 * Sonata for Piano No.1 in E Major, Op. 29 (about 1943); New York: Associated Music Publishers, 1946 * Concertino for Orchestra, Op. 30; New York: Leeds Music Corporation, 1953 * Variations and Epilogue for violin and cello, Op. 31 (about 1946); New York: Edward B. Marks Music Corporation, 1948 * Variations and Epilogue for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 31a * Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano, Op. 32 * Concerto for 2 Pianos, Op. 33; New York: Leeds Music Corporation, 1953 * Divertimento for Orchestra, Op. 34; New York: Leeds Music Corporation, 1954 * Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2, Op. 32; New York: Leeds Music Corporation, 1951 * Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra, Op. 33 (1949) * Symphony No. 3, Op. 35; New York: Leeds Music Corporation, 1951 * Quartet No. 3 for Strings, Op. 36 * Intervals, 7 studies for piano, Op. 37; New York: Leeds Music Corporation, 1957 * Variazioni concertanti, op 38, for orchestra. New York: Leeds Music Corporation, 1963 * Music for orchestra, Op. 39; New York: Leeds Music Corporation, 1960 * Music for Band, Op. 39a, Arranged by William A. Schaefer from the composer's Op. 39 * Festival Overture, Op. 40; New York: Leeds Music Corporation, 1965 * Concerto for Wind Symphony Orchestra, Op. 41 * Fantasia Concertante: for violin and pianio, Op. 42 (1962); New York: MCA Music 1967 * Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 43 (circa 1964); New York: CF Peters Corporation, 1964 * Divertimento da camera, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, violin, cello, percussion and piano, Op. 44 * Partita concertante, for chamber orchestra, Op. 45 * Symphony No. 4, Op. 46

Works without opus number

* Arabesque, for two pianos, four hands (about 1948); New York: Associated Music Publishers, 1948 * Arabesque for cello or bassoon and piano (1950); New York: Leeds Music Corporation, 1950 * Arietta, for violin and piano; New York: G. Schirmer, 1943 * CHASE, for unidentified treble instrument and piano * Dance piece for piano (edited by Isadore Freed) (1956) * Dance piece for piano; Bryn Mawr, PA: Theodore Presser Co. 1956 * Eksprompt mpromptuand Prelude (for piano solo) * Elegietta for cello and piano (1934); Mainz: Schott * Gavotte (for piano solo); Paris: Les Editions de la Sirène Musicale 1929 * Melting-Pot, ballet in six scenes * Sinfonietta for chamber orchestra (ca. 1949); New York: Music Press, 1947 * Time is Infinite Movement, for Three Voices (1947) * Toccata for piano (original composition for mechanical piano Welte-Mignon ) (1927) * Romans omance for voice and piano (1923) on a text by Akhmatova (Karlsruhe 1931) * Romans omance for voice and piano (1924) on a text by Tiucher * Scherzo (original composition for mechanical piano Welte-Mignon) (1927) * Variations and Epilogue for cello and piano

External links

Nikolai Lopatnikoff Collection, Library of Congress

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopatnikoff, Nikolai Russian composers Russian male composers American male composers 1903 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American composers Burials at Homewood Cemetery 20th-century American male musicians Neoclassical composers White Russian emigrants to Germany German emigrants to the United States