Boris Fyodorovich Schlözer (Schloezer) (Russian: Борис Фёдорович Шлёцер, sometimes a

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...

of ''Boris Fëdorovič Šlëcer'' or ''Boris de Šlëcer,'' born in

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

8 December 1881 – died in Paris 7 October 1969), was a writer,

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

and French translator of Russian origin.

Life and career

A descendant of the Russian branch of a German noble family,His father, Nestor Karl von Schlözer 839–1906 was a senior officer of the Russian Empire he emigrated to France after the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

. He took part in the ''

Nouvelle Revue Française ''La Nouvelle Revue Française'' (; "The New French Review") is a literary magazine based in France. In France, it is often referred to as the ''NRF''. History and profile The magazine was founded in 1909 by a group of intellectuals including And ...

'' and translated many Russian authors, among them

Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works " The Nose", " Viy", "The Overcoat", and " Nevsky Prosp ...

Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influenti ...

, Rozanov and especially his friend

Lev Shestov Lev Isaakovich Shestov (; 31 January .S. 13 Februaryref name="ReferenceA">Martin, Bernard, Introduction to "Athens and Jerusalem" 1866 – 19 November 1938), born Yeguda Lev Shvartsman (), was a Russian existentialist and religious philosopher ...

, whom he helped to diffuse his philosophy in France. Passionate about music, he wrote monographs on composers, sometimes in collaboration with his niece Marina Scriabina and his sister Tatiana Schlözer (1883–1922), who was Marina’s mother and the mistress of

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, scientific transliteration: ''Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin''; also transliterated variously as Skriabin, Skryabin, and (in French) Scriabine. The composer himselused the French spelling "Scriabine" which was a ...

. Schloezer's ''Introduction à J.-S. Bach'' outlines a phenomenological approach to music, and is in agreement with contemporary

gestalt Gestalt may refer to: Psychology * Gestalt psychology, a school of psychology * Gestalt therapy Gestalt therapy is a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes Responsibility assumption, personal responsibility and focuses on the individual's exp ...

music theories. He wrote prolifically on

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...

, including one of the first biographies of the composer. Schloezer's writings were influential for

Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

and his generation, though Schloezer occasionally criticized Boulez, for example in his 1955 article "Retour à Descartes."

Works

* ''Igor Stravinsky'' (1929) * ''Gogol'' (1932) * ''Introduction à J.-S. Bach; essai d'esthétique musicale'' (1947) * "Retour à Descartes" (1955) * ''Problèmes de la musique moderne'' ith Marina Scriabine, his niece(1959) * ''Mon nom est personne, roman'' (1969) * ''Alexandre Scriabin'' (1975) ;Translations from Russian to French: * ''Dostoïevski et la lutte contre les évidences de Léon Chestov'' (1922) * ''La Confession de Stavroguine de Dostoïevski'' (1922) * '' La Guerre et la Paix de Tolstoï'' * ''Le Diable de Tolstoï''

Notes

References

20th-century Russian writers Russian writers in French 20th-century French non-fiction writers Russian–French translators Writers from Vitebsk 1881 births 1969 deaths 20th-century Russian musicologists 20th-century Russian translators Scriabin scholars Stravinsky scholars {{Russia-writer-stub