Sergei Mikhailovich Slonimsky (russian: Серге́й Миха́йлович Слони́мский; 12 August 1932 – 9 February 2020) was a Russian and Soviet composer, pianist and
musicologist
Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
.
Biography
He was the son of the Soviet writer
Mikhail Slonimsky
Mikhail Leonidovich Slonimsky (russian: Михаи́л Леони́дович Слони́мский; – 8 October 1972) was a Soviet writer, member of the Serapion Brothers group.
Mikhail was born in Saint Petersburg to the family of Intellig ...
and nephew of the Russian-American composer
Nicolas Slonimsky
Nicolas Slonimsky ( – December 25, 1995), born Nikolai Leonidovich Slonimskiy (russian: Никола́й Леони́дович Сло́нимский), was a Russian-born American conductor, author, pianist, composer and lexicographer. B ...
. He studied at the Musical College in Moscow from 1943 until 1950. From 1950 Slonimsky was at the
Leningrad Conservatory
The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...
. He studied composition under
Boris Arapov,
Vissarion Shebalin
Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin (russian: Виссарио́н Я́ковлевич Шебали́н; 29 May 1963) was a Soviet composer.
Biography
Shebalin was born in Omsk, where his parents were school teachers. He studied in the musical colle ...
and
Orest Yevlakhov, polyphony under
Nicolai Uspensky and piano under
Anna Artobolevskaya,
Samari Savshinsky and Vladimir Nielsen. Slonimsky was a professor at the
St. Petersburg Conservatory
The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...
. While the majority of his students were Russian, Slonimsky taught a large percentage of the international composition students at the
Conservatory from countries including: Colombia, Korea, China, Italy, Germany, Israel, Iran and the United States.
Among Slonimsky's notable students is
Daniel Kidane
Daniel Kidane (born 1986) is a British composer. His piece "Woke" opened the last night of the 2019 Proms.
In 2016 his "Sirens" was one of a group of five short works commissioned by the BBC Philharmonic to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Sh ...
.
Slonimsky died in Saint Petersburg on 9 February 2020 after a long illness.
Music and style
Sergei Slonimsky composed more than a hundred pieces: 5 operas, 2 ballets, 34 symphonies and works in all genres of chamber, vocal, choral, theatre and cinema music, including ''Pesn' Volnitsy'' (''The Songs of Freedom'', for
mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...
,
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
and symphony orchestra based on Russian folk songs, 1962), ''A Voice from the Chorus'', a cantata set to poems by
Alexander Blok
Alexander Alexandrovich Blok ( rus, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бло́к, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈblok, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Blok.oga; 7 August 1921) was a Russian lyrical poet, writer, publ ...
,
[Alfred Schnittke, Alexander Ivashkin - 2002 A Schnittke Reader - Page 90, 0253109175. The polystylistic method employed in Slonimsky's oratorio Golos iz khora Voice from the Chorussimilarly lifts us philosophically out of the time of the story. In it the inspired and anxious reflections of Blok about the fate of the world are expressed by various means, from the choral episode in the spirit of the sixteenth century to serial and aleatoric devices from the twentieth century.] ''Concerto-Buffo'', Piano Concerto (''Jewish Rhapsody''), Cello Concerto, ''24 preludes and fugues'', etc.
Mostly eclectic, he experimented with a folkloric style as well as with
12-tone techniques and new forms of notations. He also used forms and styles of jazz and neo-romantic music.
Operas
*''Virinea'', an
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
in 7 scenes. Libretto by S. Tsenin after the novel by
Lidiia Seifullina (1967)
*''Ioann the Terrible's vision'' Russian tragedy in 13 visions with 3 epilogues and overture. Libretto by Ya. Gordin after historical documents (1970)
*''Tsar Iksion'' monodical drama after ancient myth and tragedy by
Innokenty Annensky. Libretto by S. Slonimsky (1970) premiered January 31, 1981, Kuibyshev.
*''Mary Stuart'', a ballad opera in 3 acts. Libretto by Y. Gordin after the novel by
Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig (; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist, and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular write ...
(1980)
*''Master and Margarita'', a chamber opera in 3 acts. Libretto by Y. Dimitrin and V. Fialkovsky after the novel by
Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...
(1970), (1985) 25'
*''Hamlet'', ''dramma per musica'' in 3 acts. Libretto by Ya. Gordin and S. Slonimsky after
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's tragedy translated by
Boris Pasternak
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (; rus, Бори́с Леони́дович Пастерна́к, p=bɐˈrʲis lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ pəstɛrˈnak; 30 May 1960) was a Russian poet, novelist, composer and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pa ...
, (1990)
Ballets
*''Ikarus'', a ballet in 3 acts. Libretto by Y. Slonimsky after an ancient Greek myth (1971)
*''Magic nut'', ballet, libretto by Michael Shemjakin, 2005, premiere May 14, 2005,
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...
Selected filmography
* ''
The Republic of ShKID
''The Republic of ShKID'' (russian: Республика ШКИД) is an adventure, partly autobiographical children's novel by and written in 1926 and printed in 1927.
The book is about the fate of Russian street boys (''besprizorniks'') wh ...
'' (1966)
* ''
The Mysterious Wall
''The Mysterious Wall'' (russian: Таинственная стена, Tainstvennaya stena) is a 1967 Soviet science fiction film directed by Irina Povolotskaya and Mikhail Sadkovich.
Plot
In the taiga a very strange phenomenon forms — a wall in ...
'' (1967)
* ''
Summer Impressions of Planet Z
''Summer Impressions of Planet Z'' (russian: Летние впечатления о планете Z, Letniye vpechatleniya o planete Z) is a 1986 Soviet two-part science-fiction film directed by Evgeniy Markovsky. Yuri Tomin wrote the script loose ...
'' (1986)
* ''
Tomorrow Was the War
''Tomorrow Was the War'' (russian: Завтра была война, Zavtra byla voyna) is a 1987 Soviet drama film directed by Yuri Kara based on the eponymous novella by Boris Vasilyev. The film was Kara's thesis at VGIK.
Synopsis
The film is s ...
'' (1987)
References
Further reading
Grove Music Online ''Slonimsky, Sergey Mikhaylovich'', article by Larisa Danko.
*G. Abramovsky: ‘Simfoniya Sergeya Slonimskogo’, Sovetskaya simfon iya za 50 let, ed. G. Tigranov (Leningrad, 1967), 336–43
*D. Pabinovich and others: ‘Na obsuzhdenii “Virinei” S. Slonimskogo’
n discussion of Slonimsky’s ‘Vireniya’ SovM (1968), no.4, pp. 31–46
ncl. contribution by Slonimsky, 43–4*V. Smirnov: ‘“Virineya” S. Slonimskogo’, Voprosï teorii i ėstetiki muzïki, ed. L. Raaben, xi (Leningrad, 1972), 50–67
*A. Stratiyevsky: ‘Kantata S. Slonimskogo “Golos iz khora”’, Blok i muzïka, ed. M.A. Elik (Leningrad and Moscow, 1972), 229–45
*L. Rappoport: ‘Nekotorïye stilevïye osobennosti muzïki S. Slonimskogo i yego baleta “Ikar”’
ertain particular stylistic features of the music of Slonimsky and of his ballet ‘Icarus’ Muzïka i zhizn′, ii (1973), 80–97
*Ye. Ruch′yevskaya: ‘O metodakh pretvoreniya i vïrazitel′nom znachenii rechevoy intonatsii, na primere tvorchestva S. Slonimskogo’
n the methods of realization and the expressive significance of speech intonation, with examples from the work of Slonimsky Poėziya i muzïka, ed. V. Frumkin (Moscow, 1973), 137–85
*A. Milka: Sergey Slonimsky, monograficheskiy ocherk
lonimsky, a monographic sketch(Leningrad and Moscow, 1976)
*A. Klimovitsky: ‘Opernoye tvorchestvo Sergeya Slonimskogo’
he operatic work of Slonimsky Sovremennaya sovetskaya opera, ed. A.L. Porfir′yeva (Leningrad, 1985), 24–59
*M. Rïtsareva: Kompozitor Sergey Slonimsky, monografiya (Leningrad, 1991)
*L.N. Raaben: O dukhovnom renessanse v russkoy muzïke 1960–80kh godov
bout the spiritual renaissance of Russian music during the 1960s–80s(St Petersburg, 1998)
External links
Official Site of composer Sergei Slonimsky , Saint Petersburg Contemporary Music Center reMusik.orgInterview with Sergei Slonimsky , reMusik.org JournalComposer's home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slonimsky, Sergei
1932 births
2020 deaths
Russian Jews
Jewish classical composers
Russian male classical composers
Soviet classical composers
Soviet male classical composers
Russian opera composers
Male opera composers
Academic staff of Saint Petersburg Conservatory
Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni
20th-century Russian male musicians