Sergei Nikiforovich Vasilenko (russian: Серге́й Никифорович Василенко, ''Sergej Nikiforovič Vasilenko''; – 11 March 1956) was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor and music teacher whose compositions showed a strong tendency towards mysticism. Vasilenko was born in

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 ...

and originally studied law at Moscow State University, but then changed direction and studied at the Moscow Conservatory from 1896 to 1901 as a pupil of Sergei Taneyev and

Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov (russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Ипполи́тов-Ива́нов; 28 January 1935) was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor and teacher. His music ranged from the late-Romantic era ...

. From 1903 to 1904 he was the conductor of a private opera house in Moscow. For several years he was the organiser and conductor of the Historic Concerts of the Russian Musical Society. He then became a Professor at the Moscow Conservatory, where his students included Aram Khachaturian, Nikolai Roslavets,

Nikolai Rakov , birth_name = Nikolai Petrovich Rakov , birth_date = , birth_place = Kaluga, Kaluzhsky Uyezd, Kaluga Governorate, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union , education = , occupation = , organi ...

and Aarre Merikanto. Vasilenko was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour as well as the title People's Artist of the RSFSR. In 1947, he was awarded the Stalin Prize. He died in Moscow in 1956.

Selected works

Opera

*''Skazaniye o grade velikom Kitezhe i tikhom ozere Svetoyare'' (Tale of the Great City of Kitezh and the Quiet Lake Svetoyar) (1902; originally a cantata, Op. 5) *''Sïn solntsa'' (The Son of the Sun), Op. 63 (1929) *''Khristofor Kolumb'' (Christopher Columbus), Op. 80 (1933) *''Buran'' (The Snow Storm), Op. 98 (1939) *''Velikiy kanal'' (The Grand Canal), Op. 101 (1939) *''Suvorov'', Op. 102 (1942)

Ballet

*''In the Rays of the Sun'', Op. 17 (1925–26) *''Noya'', Op. 42 (1923) *''Joseph the Handsome'', Op. 50 (1925) *''Lola'', Op. 52 (1926) *''The Gypsies'', Op. 90 (1936; after

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

) *''The Frog Princess'', Op. 103 (1941) *''Mirandolina''

Choral

*Cantata ''Legend of the Great City of Kitezh and the Quiet Lake Svetoyar'', Op, 5 (later turned into an opera that anticipated

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

's work on the same subject) *Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution, Op. 92 (1937)

Incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...

' '' Alcestis'' (written as a schoolboy) *other works

Orchestral

*''Three Bloody Battles'', Op. 1 (1900) *''Epic Poem'', Op. 4 (1900–03) *Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Op. 10 (1904–06) *''The Garden of Death'', symphonic poem after

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

, Op. 13 (1907–08) *''Sappho'', symphonic poem, Op. 14 (1909) *''Flight of the Witches'', symphonic poem, Op. 15 (1908–09) *''Au soleil'', symphonic poem, Op. 17 *''Fantastic Waltz'', Op. 18 (1912) *Symphony No. 2 in F major, Op. 22 *Suite on lute music of the 14th to 17th centuries, Op. 24 (1914) *''Zodiac'', suite on French themes of the 18th century, Op. 27 (1914) *''Exotic Suite'', Op. 29 (1915–16) *''Indian Suite'', Op. 42bis *''Chinese Suite'', No. 1, Op. 60 (1928) *''Turkmenian Suite'', Op. 68 (1931) *''Chinese Suite'', No. 2, Op. 70 (1931) *''Merry-go-round'', 8 Soviet dances, Op. 73 (1932) *''The Soviet East'', suite, Op. 75 (1932) *''Red Army Rhapsody'', Op. 77 (1932) *film music for

Boris Barnet Boris Vasilyevich Barnet (russian: Бори́с Васи́льевич Ба́рнет; 18 June 1902 – 8 January 1965) was a Soviet film director, actor and screenwriter of British heritage. He directed 27 films between 1927 and 1963. Barne ...

's ''

Outskirts Outskirts or The Outskirts may refer to: * Rural–urban fringe The rural–urban fringe, also known as the outskirts, rurban, peri-urban or the urban hinterland, can be described as the "landscape interface between town and country", or als ...

'' (1933) *''Slavonic Rhapsody'' (1937)

Concertante

*Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 25 (1910–13) *Concerto for symphony orchestra and brass band (1928) *''Suite on Russian Folk Themes'', balalaika and accordion (1928) *Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, Op. 113 *Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor, Op. 128

Chamber

*String Quartet in A, Op. 3 (c. 1901) *Sonata in D minor for viola and piano, Op. 46 (1923); version for violin and piano (1955) *String Quartet in E minor, Op. 58 (c. 1928) *Quartet on Turkmenian Themes, for flute, oboe (English horn), clarinet, bassoon and percussion ad lib., Op. 65 (1932) *Piano Trio in A, Op. 74 (1932) *''Japanese Suite'' for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, xylophone and piano, Op. 66a (1938) *''Chinese Sketches'', woodwind, Op. 78 (1938) *''Quartet on American Themes'', woodwind, Op. 79 (1938)

Military band

*''March of the Red Army'', Op. 64 (1929) *''Fantasy on Revolutionary Songs of the West'', Op. 71 (1931)

Other

*songs (including settings of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

, Indian and Japanese tunes) *folksong arrangements (including Negro and Turkmenian melodies) *piano pieces

Recordings

*Sergei Vasilenko: Viola and Piano Music (Complete) - Viola Sonata, Op. 46 / Lullaby / 4 Pieces on Themes of Lute Music of the 16-17th Centuries, Op. 35 / Sleeping River / Oriental Dance, Op. 47 / Suite Zodiakus I.A.S, Op. 27 / 4 Pieces (1953) - Elena Artamonova (viola) and Nicholas Walker (piano). Toccata Classics TOCC0127, released 2011 *"The Russian Connection" - Hexagon Ensemble. Etcetera Records KTC1246, released 2001 - includes Sergei Vasilenko: Quartet on Turkmenian Themes Op.65

References

External links

Brief biography and list of works
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vassilenko, Sergei Nikiforovich 1872 births 1956 deaths 19th-century male musicians 20th-century composers 20th-century Russian conductors (music) Russian male conductors (music) 20th-century Russian male musicians Musicians from Moscow Imperial Moscow University alumni Moscow Conservatory alumni Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory People's Artists of the RSFSR Stalin Prize winners Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Composers from the Russian Empire Conductors (music) from the Russian Empire Pupils of Sergei Taneyev Russian ballet composers Russian opera composers Russian Romantic composers Soviet conductors (music) Soviet male composers Soviet music educators Soviet opera composers Burials at Vvedenskoye Cemetery Soviet male classical composers