Sviatoslav Nikolayevich Knushevitsky (also seen as Knushevit
zky; 19 February 1963) was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
-
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 ...
n
classical cellist. He was particularly noted for his partnership with the violinist
David Oistrakh
David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974), was a Soviet classical violinist, violist and conductor.
Oistrakh collaborated with major orchestras and musicians from many parts of the world and was the dedicatee of numerous violin ...
and the pianist
Lev Oborin
Lev Nikolayevich Oborin (russian: Лев Николаевич Оборин, ''Lev Nikolaevič Oborin''; Moscow, Moscow, 5 January 1974) was a Soviet and Russian pianist, composer and pedagogue. He was the winner of the first International Chopin ...
in a renowned piano trio from 1940 until his death. After
Mstislav Rostropovich and
Daniil Shafran
Daniil Borisovich Shafran (russian: Даниил Борисович Шафран, January 13, 1923February 7, 1997) was a Soviet Russian cellist.
Biography
Early years
Daniil Shafran was born in Petrograd (later Leningrad, then Saint Petersburg ...
, he is spoken of as one of the pre-eminent Russian cellists of the 20th century.
Biography
Sviatoslav Knushevitsky was born at
Petrovsk, Saratov Oblast, on .
[ He studied at 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 ...
with Semyon Kozolupov, graduating with a gold medal. He joined the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra in 1929, remaining their principal cellist until 1943.
In 1933 Knushevitsky won First Prize at the All-Union Music Competition. In 1940 he joined in partnership with the violinist David Oistrakh
David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974), was a Soviet classical violinist, violist and conductor.
Oistrakh collaborated with major orchestras and musicians from many parts of the world and was the dedicatee of numerous violin ...
and the pianist Lev Oborin
Lev Nikolayevich Oborin (russian: Лев Николаевич Оборин, ''Lev Nikolaevič Oborin''; Moscow, Moscow, 5 January 1974) was a Soviet and Russian pianist, composer and pedagogue. He was the winner of the first International Chopin ...
in a renowned piano trio, often referred to as the Oistrakh Trio, which concertised and recorded a great deal in many countries. He also joined a string quartet with Oistrakh, Pyotr Bondarenko and Mikhail Terian,[ known as the Beethoven Quartet.] His sonata performances with Oistrakh were considered the equal in their day of the later duo of Sviatoslav Richter
Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter, group= ( – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet classical pianist. He is frequently regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time, Great Pianists of the 20th Century and has been praised for the "depth of his int ...
and Mstislav Rostropovich.[
In 1941 Knushevitsky joined the staff of the Moscow Conservatory, becoming a professor in 1950. From 1954 to 1959 he was chair of cello and double bass studies.][ His pupils there included the cellists Stefan Popov, Mikhail Khomitser and Yevgeny Altman,][ and the double bassist Rodion Azarkhin.
Cello concertos were written for him by:
* ]Nikolai Myaskovsky
Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky or Miaskovsky or Miaskowsky (russian: Никола́й Я́ковлевич Мяско́вский; pl, Mikołaj Miąskowski, syn Jakóbowy; 20 April 18818 August 1950), was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is som ...
( Cello Concerto in C minor, 1944; premiered Moscow, 17 March 1945;[ the first recording, however, was made by Rostropovich in 1956)
* ]Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; rus, Арам Ильич Хачатурян, , ɐˈram ɨˈlʲjitɕ xətɕɪtʊˈrʲan, Ru-Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.ogg; hy, Արամ Խաչատրյան, ''Aram Xačʿatryan''; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet and Armenia ...
( Cello Concerto in E minor, 1946; premiered Moscow, 30 October 1946; he had also written his Piano Concerto in D-flat in 1936 for Lev Oborin, and his Violin Concerto in D minor in 1940 for David Oistrakh), and
* Reinhold Glière
Reinhold Moritzevich Glière (born Reinhold Ernest Glier, which was later converted for standardization purposes; russian: Рейнгольд Морицевич Глиэр; 23 June 1956), was a Russian Imperial and Soviet composer of German and ...
(Cello Concerto in D minor, Op. 87, 1946).
Other composers who wrote for him were Sergei Vasilenko and Alexander Goedicke
Alexander Fyodorovich Goedicke ( rus, Алекса́ндр Фёдорович Ге́дике, r=Aleksandr Fyodorovich Gedike; in Moscow9 July 1957 in Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist.
Goedicke was a professor at Moscow Con ...
.[ His repertoire included mainstream works from concertos and chamber works through to smaller pieces and arrangements, along with contemporary and rarer works such as the Richard Strauss Cello Sonata and the Solo Cello Suites of Max Reger.
Sviatoslav Knushevitsky was an alcoholic,][ which, along with his frenetic lifestyle, contributed to his early death at the age of 55 in 1963, 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 millio ...
.
Family
Sviatoslav Knushevitsky's brother Victor (1906–1974) was a violinist and from 1936 the conductor of a renowned Russian jazz ensemble, the State Jazz Orchestra of the USSR.[
His wife Natalia Shpiller (1909–1995) was a soprano soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre for over 30 years. She was a favourite of ]Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
and often sang at the Kremlin. She taught at the Gnessin Institute 1950–1995.
Awards and honors
* Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...
(December 28, 1946)
* Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to:
* The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...
, 3rd class (1950)
* Medal "For Labour Valour"
The Medal "For Labour Valour" (russian: Медаль «За трудовую доблесть») was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union bestowed to especially deserving workers to recognise and honour dedicated and valorous labour or ...
(July 9, 1954)
* Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR (1956)
Recordings
Sviatoslav Knushevitsky's many recordings include:
* Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
: Triple Concerto in C; Oborin, Oistrakh, Knushevitsky, with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Sir Malcolm Sargent
Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent (29 April 1895 – 3 October 1967) was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works. The musical ensembles with which he was associated include ...
[
* Beethoven: ''Archduke'' Trio]
* Borodin
Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin ( rus, link=no, Александр Порфирьевич Бородин, Aleksandr Porfir’yevich Borodin , p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr pɐrˈfʲi rʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈdʲin, a=RU-Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin.ogg, ...
: String Sextet in D minor
* Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
: Double Concerto
A double concerto (Italian: ''Doppio concerto''; German: ''Doppelkonzert'') is a concerto featuring two performers—as opposed to the usual single performer, in the solo role. The two performers' instruments may be of the same type, as in Bach's ...
, with Oistrakh and the USSR Symphony Orchestra under Karl Eliasberg
* Chopin: Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 8[
* Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 4, ''Dumky Trio'', Op. 90][ and Trio in F minor, Op. 65
* Khachaturian: Cello Concerto in E minor (the premiere performance; and a later one conducted by ]Alexander Gauk
Alexander Vassilievich Gauk (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Га́ук; 30 March 1963) was a Russian/Soviet conductor and composer.
Biography
Alexander Gauk was born in Odessa in 1893. He recalled his first experience as h ...
)
* Myaskovsky
Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky or Miaskovsky or Miaskowsky (russian: Никола́й Я́ковлевич Мяско́вский; pl, Mikołaj Miąskowski, syn Jakóbowy; 20 April 18818 August 1950), was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is so ...
: Cello Sonata No. 1 in D, Op. 12
* Popper: Cello Concerto in C
* Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...
: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19
* Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
: Piano Trio in A minor[
* ]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 ...
: Piano Trio in C (1897, incomplete; completed 1939 by Maximilian Steinberg
Maximilian Osseyevich Steinberg (Russian Максимилиан Осеевич Штейнберг; – 6 December 1946) was a Russian composer of classical music.
Though once considered the hope of Russian music, Steinberg is far less well known ...
; world premiere recording)
* Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33
* Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
: Octet in F major, D. 803[
* Schubert: Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat][
* Schubert: Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat]
* Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
: Piano Trio No. 2 in F, Op. 80
* 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 First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...
: Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67
* Smetana: Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15[
* ]Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
: Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33 (conducted by Alexander Gauk[)
* Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50
* Tchaikovsky: String Sextet in D minor, ''Souvenir de Florence'', Op. 70, with ]Elizabeth Gilels
Elizabeth Gilels (born Yelizaveta Grigoryevna Gilels; russian: Елизаве́та Григо́рьевна Ги́лельс; 30th September 1919 – 13 March 2008) was a Soviet violinist and professor.
Biography
Elizabeth Gilels was born ...
(violin), Rudolf Barshai
Rudolf Borisovich Barshai (russian: Рудольф Борисович Баршай, link=no, September 28, 1924November 2, 2010) was a Soviet and Russian conductor and violist.
Life
Barshai was born on September 28, 1924, in Stanitsa Labinskay ...
and Genrikh Talalyan (violas), and Mstislav Rostropovich (cello).
References
Sources
Presto Classical
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knushevitsky, Sviatoslav
1908 births
1963 deaths
20th-century cellists
20th-century classical musicians
People from Petrovsk
Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory alumni
Stalin Prize winners
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Russian classical cellists
Russian music educators
Soviet classical cellists
Soviet music educators
Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery