Alexander Veprik
Encyclopedia
Alexander Moiseyevich Veprik, also Weprik, ' onMouseout='HidePop("17053")' href="/topics/Balta,_Ukraine">Balta, Ukraine
– 13 October 1958 in Moscow
) was a Russian
(Ukrainian
; Soviet) composer
and music educator. Veprik is considered one of the greatest composers of the "Jewish school" in Soviet music.
and studied piano with Karl Wendling at the Leipzig Conservatory. At the onset of World War I
, the family returned to Russia. Veprik studied composition with Alexander Zhitomirsky (1881–1937) in the Saint Petersburg Conservatory
(1918–1921) and Nikolai Myaskovsky
at the Moscow Conservatory
(1921–1923).
Veprik was active in the musical life of 1920–1930s. In 1923 he was active in the creation of the Society for Jewish Music, a focal point for Jewish composers in Moscow, and Jewish music flourished as a result of the activities of the Society. He taught at the Moscow Conservatory (1923–1941; professor from 1930; dean from 1938). In 1927 during a business trip in Austria, Germany and France, he met Arnold Schoenberg
, Paul Hindemith
, Maurice Ravel
and Arthur Honegger
. His music became well-known in Europe and the United States during this time: nearly his entire oeuvre was performed by the Berlin Radio Symphony
(1928–1929). In March 1933 Arturo Toscanini
conducted Veprik's Dances and Songs of the Ghetto at Carnegie Hall
in New York
.
Veprik was arrested as a "Jewish nationalist" in 1950, maltreated in prison and then deported to the Gulag
. He was released from hard labor and instead had to organize an amateur orchestra among the prisoners. In April 1954, Vepryk's case was reviewed and he was acquitted. In September 1954 he returned sick and weary to Moscow, to a world in which Jewish culture had no place. Veprik composed a few works and wrote Principles of J.S. Bach's Orchestration (Принципы оркестровки И.-С. Баха). He died on 13 October 1958 in Moscow.
Orchestral
Chamber music
Piano
Vocal
Choral
Film scores
Literary
Balta, Ukraine
Balta is a small city in the Odessa Oblast of south-western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Baltsky Raion , and located approximately 200 kilometers from the oblast capital, Odessa...
– 13 October 1958 in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) was a Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
(Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
; Soviet) composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and music educator. Veprik is considered one of the greatest composers of the "Jewish school" in Soviet music.
Life
Veprik grew up in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
and studied piano with Karl Wendling at the Leipzig Conservatory. At the onset of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the family returned to Russia. Veprik studied composition with Alexander Zhitomirsky (1881–1937) in the Saint Petersburg Conservatory
Saint Petersburg Conservatory
The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory is a music school in Saint Petersburg. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty members and 1,400 students.-History:...
(1918–1921) and Nikolai Myaskovsky
Nikolai Myaskovsky
Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is sometimes referred to as the "father of the Soviet symphony".-Early years and first important works:...
at 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...
(1921–1923).
Veprik was active in the musical life of 1920–1930s. In 1923 he was active in the creation of the Society for Jewish Music, a focal point for Jewish composers in Moscow, and Jewish music flourished as a result of the activities of the Society. He taught at the Moscow Conservatory (1923–1941; professor from 1930; dean from 1938). In 1927 during a business trip in Austria, Germany and France, he met Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
, Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
, Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
and Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which is interpreted as imitating the sound of a steam locomotive.-Biography:Born...
. His music became well-known in Europe and the United States during this time: nearly his entire oeuvre was performed by the Berlin Radio Symphony
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (East Berlin)
The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Berlin, Germany. In Berlin, the orchestra gives concerts at theKonzerthaus Berlin and at the Berliner Philharmonie...
(1928–1929). In March 1933 Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
conducted Veprik's Dances and Songs of the Ghetto at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Veprik was arrested as a "Jewish nationalist" in 1950, maltreated in prison and then deported to the Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
. He was released from hard labor and instead had to organize an amateur orchestra among the prisoners. In April 1954, Vepryk's case was reviewed and he was acquitted. In September 1954 he returned sick and weary to Moscow, to a world in which Jewish culture had no place. Veprik composed a few works and wrote Principles of J.S. Bach's Orchestration (Принципы оркестровки И.-С. Баха). He died on 13 October 1958 in Moscow.
Selected works
Opera- Toktogul (Токтогул), Opera (1940); libretto by Dzhoomart Bokombaev (1910–1944)
- Toktogul (Токтогул), Opera (1949); second opera with the same title composed jointly with Abdylas MaldybaevAbdylas MaldybaevAbdylas Maldybaev was a Kyrgyz composer, actor, and operatic tenor singer. Maldybaev was one of the composers of the state anthem of the Kirghiz SSR and is still renowned for his operatic composition. He helped popularize Kyrgyz music by skillfully using Western European techniques...
Orchestral
- Dances and Songs of the Ghetto (Пляски и песни гетто; Tänze und Lieder des Ghetto), Op. 12 (1927)
- 5 Small Pieces (Пять маленьких пьес; Fünf kleine Orchesterstücke) for orchestra, Op. 17 (1930, revised 1957)
- Symphony No. 1 (1931)
- Funeral Song (Траурная песня; Trauergesang), Op. 20 No. 2 (1932, revised 1958)
- Song of Jubilation (Песня ликования; Chant de jubilation) (1935, revised 1958)
- Symphony No. 2 (1938)
- 3 Pieces on Kyrgyz Themes (Три пьесы на киргизские темы), Suite for orchestra (1941)
- Pastorale (Пастораль) (1946, revised 1958)
- Sinfonietta (Симфониетта) (1948)
- 2 Poems (Две поэмы) (1956, 1957)
- Improvisation (Импровизация) (1958)
Chamber music
- Songs of the Dead (Песни об умерших; Totenlieder) for viola and piano, Op. 4 (1923)
- Kaddish (Каддиш), Poem for violin, or viola, or flute, or oboe and piano, Op. 6 (1925); original for voice and piano
- Suite (Sonata) for violin and piano, Op. 7 (1925)
-
- Comodito, abbandono
- Barocco, al rigore di Tempo
- Capriccioso, ma placido
- Chant rigoureux (Строгий напев) for clarinet and piano, Op. 9 (1926); transcription for viola and piano by Vadim BorisovskyVadim BorisovskyVadim Vasilyevich Borisovsky was a Russian violist.Born in Moscow, Borisovsky entered Moscow Conservatory in 1917 studying the violin with Mikhail Press. A year later, on the advice of violist Vladimir Bakaleinikov, Borisovsky turned his attentions to the viola. He studied with Bakaleinikov and...
- Rhapsodie (Рапсодия) for viola and piano, Op. 11 (1926)
- 3 Folk Dances (Три народные пляски; Drei Volkstänze) for violin, cello and piano, Op. 13b (1928); original for piano
- 2 Pieces on Folk Themes (Две пьесы на народные темы) for cello and piano (1934)
- Chant rigoureux (Строгий напев) for clarinet and piano, Op. 9 (1926); transcription for viola and piano by Vadim Borisovsky
Piano
- Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 3 (1922)
- Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 5 (1924)
- Dance (Пляска; Danse) (1927)
- 3 Folk Dances (Три народные пляски; Drei Volkstänze) for piano, Op. 13 (1928); also for piano trio, Op. 13b
- Piano Sonata No. 3 (1928)
- Album for Children (Детский альбом) (1930)
- 7 Pieces on Kyrgyz Themes (Семь пьес на киргизские темы) for piano 4-hands
Vocal
- Kaddish (Каддиш), Poem (Vocalise) for voice (without words) and piano, Op. 6 (1925); also for violin, or viola, or flute, or oboe and piano
- 2 Jewish Folk Songs (Две еврейские народные песни) for voice and piano, Op. 8 (1926)
-
- Sait gesunterheit (О ты, прости, прощай)
- Spaziren zainen mir gegangen (Однажды с милым вдвоём мы гуляли)
- 2 Jewish Songs (Две еврейские песни; Zwei hebräische Lieder) for voice and piano, Op. 10 (1926)
- Hant zu hant (Держись ровнее)
- Eins un zwei (Раз и два)
- Snowflakes (Снежинки); words by Demyan BednyDemyan BednyDemyan Bedny, was the pen name of Soviet Russian poet, Bolshevik and satirist Yefim Alekseevich Pridvorov .-Life:Efim Pridvorov was born to a poor family in Gubovka, in what is now Kirovohrad Oblast in Ukraine. He attended the village school followed by a feldsher training college in Kiev. This...
- To the Barricades (На баррикадах) (1932); words from Revolutionary Songs of 1905
- Чангрийская песня (1937)
- 2 Ukrainian Songs (Две украинские песни) (1943)
- Snowflakes (Снежинки); words by Demyan Bedny
Choral
- Stalinstan (Сталинстан) for chorus and piano (1934); words by Izi Kharik
- Suite from the Opera "Toktogul" (Сюита из оперы Токтогул) for soloists, chorus and orchestra (1942, revised 1958)
- The Curse of Fascism (Проклятие фашизму) for chorus and orchestra (1944)
- National Hero (Народ-герой), Cantata for chorus and orchestra (1955); words by Alexander Mashistov
- Song of Kotovsky (Песня о Котовском) for chorus a cappella (1935); words by Eduard BagritskyEduard BagritskyEduard Bagritsky , real name Dzyubin , was an important Russian and Soviet poet of the Constructivist School.He was a Neo-Romantic early in his poetic career; he was also a part of the so-called Odessa School of Russian writers...
- Kyrgyz Song (Киргизская песня) for chorus a cappella (1950)
Film scores
- The Last Night (Последняя ночь) (1936); directed by Yuli RaizmanYuli RaizmanYuli Yakovlevich Raizman was a Soviet Russian film director and screenwriter. His film Private Life was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.-Selected filmography:* The Earth Thirsts...
Literary
- О методах преподавания инструментовки на композиторском отделении (1929)
- Нужны ли переложения фортепианных произведений на оркестр (1930)
- Трактовка инструментов оркестра (1948, published 1961)
- Очерки по вопросам оркестровых стилей (published 1961)
Discography
- Jewish Chamber Music – Tabea ZimmermannTabea ZimmermannTabea Zimmermann, born on October 8, 1966 in Lahr, , is a German violist.She began learning to play the viola at the age of three, and commenced piano studies at age five...
(viola); Jasha Nemtsov (piano); Hänssler Classic CD 93.008 (2000)
-
- Rhapsodie, Op. 11
- Songs of the Dead, Op. 4
- Kaddish (Poem), Op. 6
- Chant rigoureux, Op. 9
- Piano Trios: 3 Folk Dances, Op. 13b – Dmitry Sitkovetsky (violin); David Geringas (cello); Jascha Nemtsov (piano); Hänssler Classic CD 98.491 (2004)
- On Wings of Jewish Songs: Music from the New Jewish School – Helene Schneiderman (mezzo-soprano); Jascha Nemtsov (piano); Hänssler Classic CD 93.041 (2005)
- Two Jewish Folk Songs for voice and piano, Op. 8 (1926)
- Two Jewish Songs for voice and piano, Op. 10
- Turban & Nemtsov Play Hebrew Melodies: Suite No. 7 for violin and piano – Ingolf Turban (violin); Jascha Nemtsov (piano); Hänssler Classic CD 93.028 (2006)