Aleksandr Gauk
Encyclopedia
Aleksandr Vassilievich Gauk (30 March 1963) was a Russia
n/Soviet
conductor and composer.
Aleksandr Gauk was born in Odessa
in 1893. He recalled his first experience as hearing army bands and his mother singing and accompanying herself at the piano. When he was seven he began piano studies and at 17 travelled to St Petersburg and managed to gain entrance to the class of Daugover, later moving over to Felix Blumenfeld
. He saw Arthur Nikisch
, Claude Debussy
and Richard Strauss
conduct and was particularly taken by the former.
Gauk’s first conducting experience was in 1912 with a student orchestra, and professionally on 1 October 1917 for a production of Tchaikovsky
's Cherevichki
at the Petrograd Musical Drama Theatre. He spent much of the 1920s as conductor for the Mariinsky Ballet
. He married the ballerina Elena Gerdt.
From 1930 to 1934, he was chief conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra. On 6 November 1931, he conducted that orchestra and the Academy Capella Choir in the world premiere of Shostakovich
's Symphony No. 3 in E flat major
, Op. 20 "First of May".
From 1932 he worked in Moscow and became chief conductor of a new radio orchestra in 1936, which evolved into the USSR State Symphony Orchestra. During the Second World War, after escaping from Riga, he taught in Moscow, before spending two years at the Tbilisi
Conservatory and reviving the Georgian State Symphony Orchestra.
He restored Rachmaninoff
's discarded First Symphony
from the orchestral parts found in the archives of the Moscow Conservatory
after the composer's death in 1943. He conducted the world premiere of Khachaturian
's Cello Concerto
in Moscow in 1946.
Gauk's own compositions include a symphony, chamber works for strings and works for piano. He left an unfinished autobiography.
His huge recorded legacy is now only partly accessible; Brilliant Classics
has issued a set of reissues, including works by Arensky
, Prokofiev
, Khachaturian and Shostakovich.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n/Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
conductor and composer.
Aleksandr Gauk was born in Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
in 1893. He recalled his first experience as hearing army bands and his mother singing and accompanying herself at the piano. When he was seven he began piano studies and at 17 travelled to St Petersburg and managed to gain entrance to the class of Daugover, later moving over to Felix Blumenfeld
Felix Blumenfeld
Felix Mikhailovich Blumenfeld was a Russian composer, conductor, pianist and teacher.He was born in Kovalevka, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire , the son of Austrian Mikhail Frantsevich Blumenfeld and the Polish Marie Szymanowska, and studied composition at the St...
. He saw Arthur Nikisch
Arthur Nikisch
Arthur Nikisch ; 12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London and - most importantly - Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Liszt...
, Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
and Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
conduct and was particularly taken by the former.
Gauk’s first conducting experience was in 1912 with a student orchestra, and professionally on 1 October 1917 for a production of Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's Cherevichki
Cherevichki
Cherevichki [alternative renderings are The Little Shoes, The Tsarina's Slippers, Les caprices d'Oxane, and Gli stivaletti] is a comic-fantastic opera in 4 acts, 8 scenes, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It was composed in 1885 in Maidanovo, Russia...
at the Petrograd Musical Drama Theatre. He spent much of the 1920s as conductor for the Mariinsky Ballet
Mariinsky Ballet
The Mariinsky Ballet is a classical ballet company based at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's leading ballet companies...
. He married the ballerina Elena Gerdt.
From 1930 to 1934, he was chief conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra. On 6 November 1931, he conducted that orchestra and the Academy Capella Choir in the world premiere of Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
's Symphony No. 3 in E flat major
Symphony No. 3 (Shostakovich)
The Symphony No. 3 in E flat major by Dmitri Shostakovich was first performed by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra and Academy Capella Choir under Aleksandr Gauk on 21 January 1930....
, Op. 20 "First of May".
From 1932 he worked in Moscow and became chief conductor of a new radio orchestra in 1936, which evolved into the USSR State Symphony Orchestra. During the Second World War, after escaping from Riga, he taught in Moscow, before spending two years at the Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
Conservatory and reviving the Georgian State Symphony Orchestra.
He restored Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
's discarded First Symphony
Symphony No. 1 (Rachmaninoff)
Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 13, is a music piece by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, written at Ivanovka, an estate near Tambov, Russia, between January and October 1895...
from the orchestral parts found in the archives of the Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
after the composer's death in 1943. He conducted the world premiere of Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
's Cello Concerto
Cello Concerto (Khachaturian)
Aram Khachaturian wrote his Cello Concerto in E minor in 1946 for Sviatoslav Knushevitsky. It was the last of the three concertos he wrote for the individual members of a renowned Soviet piano trio that performed together from 1941 until 1963...
in Moscow in 1946.
Gauk's own compositions include a symphony, chamber works for strings and works for piano. He left an unfinished autobiography.
His huge recorded legacy is now only partly accessible; Brilliant Classics
Brilliant Classics
Brilliant Classics is a Dutch classical music record label, based in Leeuwarden, formerly part of Foreign Media Music BV, but since March 2011 acquired by Triacta. The company is notable for its ultra-budget market approach turning around decline in classical records sales with "Complete Mozart...
has issued a set of reissues, including works by Arensky
Anton Arensky
Anton Stepanovich Arensky -Biography:Arensky was born in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and had composed a number of songs and piano pieces by the age of nine...
, Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, Khachaturian and Shostakovich.