Alexander Borisovich Goldenweiser 26 November 1961) was a Russian and Soviet pianist, teacher and composer. Goldenweiser was born in Kishinev,

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. In 1889, he was admitted to the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

in the class of Alexander Siloti (also Ziloti). He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1895 in the piano class of Pavel Pabst (previously with A.I.Siloti), winning the Gold Medal for Piano, in 1897 – in the composition class of

Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov (; born Mikhail Mikhailovich Ivanov; 28 January 1935) was a Russia, Russian and Soviet Union, Soviet composer, conductor and teacher. His music ranged from the late-Romantic era into the 20th century era. ...

. He also studied composition with

Anton Arensky Anton Stepanovich Arensky (; – ) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music. Biography Arensky was born into an affluent, music-loving family in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and ha ...

and counterpoint with

Sergei Taneyev Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (, ; – ) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of musical composition, composition, music theorist and author. Life Taneyev was born in Vladimir, Russia, Vladimir, Vladimir Governorate, Russian Empire, to a cultur ...

(1892–1893). He joined the faculty of the Conservatory shortly afterward, where he worked as the dean, and during his tenure there, his pupils included Grigory Ginzburg, Lazar Berman, Samuil Feinberg, Rosa Tamarkina, Dmitry Kabalevsky, Galina Eguiazarova, Nikolai Kapustin, Alexander Braginsky, Sulamita Aronovsky, Tatiana Nikolayeva, Dmitry Paperno, , Oxana Yablonskaya, Nelly Akopian-Tamarina, Dmitri Bashkirov, , and many others.

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 of ...

's Second Suite, Op. 17, was dedicated to him as well as Medtner's ''Lyric Fragments'', Op. 23. He was a close friend of

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

. He published memories of his relationship with Tolstoy in his book ''Vblizi Tolstogo''. He made a number of renowned recordings as a pianist, including four recordings on

piano roll A piano roll is a music storage medium used to operate a player piano, piano player or reproducing piano. Piano rolls, like other music rolls, are continuous rolls of paper with holes punched into them. These perforations represent note contro ...

for the Welte-Mignon reproducing piano in 1910. He died in 1961, in

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...

Honours and awards

* People's Artist of the RSFSR (1931) * Stalin Prize, first class (1947) * Two Orders of Lenin (including 9 March 1945) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

, three times (27 April 1937, 29 April 1950, 9 March 1955) *

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

(1946)

Selective discography

as composer and pianist *Piano Trio in E minor, Op. 31.

Leonid Kogan Leonid Borisovich Kogan (; ; 14 November 1924 – 17 December 1982) was a preeminent Soviet violinist during the 20th century. Many consider him to be among the greatest violinists of the 20th century. In particular, he is considered to have be ...

, violin.

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

, cello. Composer, piano. Melodiya D-9123-4 (LP); released 1961 as composer *''Contrapuntal Sketches'', Op. 12. ''Sonata Fantasia', Op. 37. 'Skazka'', Op. 39. Jonathan Powell, piano. Toccata TOCC 044, CD, released 2009. The ''Contrapuntal Sketches'' were written in the 1930s. With this work Goldenweiser can perhaps stake claim as being the first Russian composer to write a set of polyphonic pieces in each of the major and minor keys, all of which appear on this recording. as pianist *Russian Piano School, Vol 1: Alexander Goldenweiser. Music by Tchaikovsky, Arensky, Borodin, Rachmaninoff (also with G. Ginsburg), Medtner, Goldenweiser – original recordings 1946–1955 by Melodiya. NoNoise transfers distributed BMG 74321 25173 2 *Russian Piano School. Rachmaninoff: Suites for Two Pianos nos. 1 & 2; Six Morceaux pour piano duet. Talents of Russia. RCD 16260 *Grieg: Lyric pieces, opp. 12, 43, 47, 65. Melodiya. MEL CD 10 02118 *Medtner: Sonata in E minor for Violin and Piano, op. 57 (with David Oistrakh, violin). Melodiya. *Catoire: Violin Sonatas nos. 1 & 2 (with David Oistrakh, violin). Melodiya.

References

* ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' London: Macmillan, 1980 * Archive o
Alexander Goldenweiser Papers
at the

International Institute of Social History International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

*Herbert Aptheker: ''The Fraud of Soviet Anti-Semitism'' New York, N.Y.: New Era Books, 1962
Online Version

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldenweiser, Alexander Borisovich 1875 births 1961 deaths Musicians from Chișinău People from Kishinyovsky Uyezd People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian classical pianists Russian male classical pianists Soviet classical pianists Russian male composers Soviet composers Soviet male composers Russian music educators Piano educators Jewish classical pianists Pupils of Nikolai Zverev Pupils of Pavel Pabst Moscow Conservatory alumni