Revol Bunin
Encyclopedia
Revol Samoilovich Bunin ' onMouseout='HidePop("25851")' href="/topics/Moscow">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...

 – 3 July 1976 in Moscow), was a Russian composer.

Early life and education

Brunin's father, Samuil Markovich, was an old bolshevik
Old Bolshevik
Old Bolshevik , also Old Bolshevik Guard or Old Party Guard, was an unofficial designation for those who were members of the Bolshevik party before the Russian Revolution of 1917, many of whom were either tried and executed by the NKVD during Stalin era purges or died under suspicious...

, a member of the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...

 from before the revolution and was a professor of social economics at one of the Moscow Institutes. Brunin was named "Revol" after the October revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...

.

Volik was 6 when he started to write music and he started by writing scores. In the postrevolutionry Soviet Union
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....

, score paper was hard to find, so young Bunin would draw lines on a plain paper for his compositions. He wrote marches, waltzes, minuets and Polkas.

Bunin’s mother was always very ill, and died when he was 14, leaving his upbringing was entirely in the hands of his father. When Brunin’s mother was dying, she asked him to play a piano. He played Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...

, Beethoven, Mozart, Mussorgsky
Mussorgsky
Mussorgsky can refer to:*The Mussorgsky family of Russian nobility;*Modest Mussorgsky, a Russian composer belonging to that family.*Mussorgsky , a 1950 Soviet film about the composer...

 through the night and in the morning, he had an the first attack of asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...

, a disease that would, in the end, prove fatal.

In 1938 Revol started his compositions studies at the Music School 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...

 under Professor Ilya Litinsky. During his third year of studies he was admitted to the Conservatory and continued his studies under Professor Vissarion Shebalin
Vissarion Shebalin
Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin was a Soviet composer.-Biography:Shebalin was born in Omsk, where his parents were school teachers. He studied in the musical college in Omsk. He was 20 years old when, following the advice of his professor, he went to Moscow to show his first compositions to...

, who was, at the time, the Conservatory’s director. In 1941, he was summoned to first work at the military factory in Moscow and then drafted to active duty but, taking into account his musical gift, he was stationed near 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...

, so he could continue to attend the classes. He was decommissioned, due to ill health, in March 1943.
In June 1943 Shostakovich came to teach 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...

 and Bunin was the first student he selected to be his pupil. Bunin wrote in his article “With great appreciation” in “The Soviet Music” Magazine (September 1976) - “... We were more and more conquered by Shostakovich’s works. Secretly, I was dreaming to become his student. Finally, this happy day came on June 7th, 1943, class room number 31... At the piano a friendly man, dressed in a gray-colored modest suit, wearing horn-rimmed spectacles. He looked very young, nothing like the old eminent scholars of the Conservatory. He asked me in details how old I was, when I started to compose, who were my teachers, if I studied polyphony and so on; he subjected me to a small exam - I had to read a score of Haydn symphony, to tell him what was the difference between a Passacaglia
Passacaglia
The passacaglia is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used by contemporary composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often, but not always, based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre....

 and Chaconne
Chaconne
A chaconne ; is a type of musical composition popular in the baroque era when it was much used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short repetitive bass-line which offered a compositional outline for variation, decoration, figuration and...

, to give examples, known to me, of a mirror reprise in symphonic allegro
Allegro
Allegro may refer to:* Allegro * Musical tempo meaning cheerful or brisk; see Tempo#Italian tempo markings* Allegro library, a computer game programming library* Allegro , a typeface designed in 1936...

 and give examples for use of French horns and trumpets in a rare formation (H, Fis). Shostakovich was interested if I read a lot and if I liked Chekhov
Chekhov
- People :* Alexander Chekhov, older brother of Anton Chekhov* Anton Chekhov , Russian writer** Chekhov Gymnasium, school, and now museum in Taganrog** Chekhov Library, public library in Taganrog** Anton Chekhov class motorship...

 and Leskov...”

For a while, Bunin was Shostakovich’s only student. He graduated from the Conservatory in 1945 with honors. Shebalin could not forgive Bunin’s defection to the Shostakovich's class from his own and did not allow his name to be added to the “Golden Board” of exemplary students.

Composer

In 1947, Bunin moved to Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...

, where he taught music arrangement at the Leningrad Conservatory and assisted Shostakovich as a co-professor of composition. The same year, his 2nd Symphony
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...

 was premiered in Leningrad, under the direction of conductor Evgeny Mravinsky
Evgeny Mravinsky
Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Mravinsky was a Russian/Soviet conductor.-Life and career:Mravinsky was born in Saint Petersburg. The soprano Yevgeniya Mravina was his aunt. His father died in 1918, and in that same year, he began to work backstage at the Mariinsky Theatre. He first studied biology at...

.
In 1948, he moved back to 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...

 and worked as an editor for the State Music Publishing.

After a government decree set stringent regulations on music and art in the Soviet Union
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....

, Shostakovich was dismissed as Professor in the Conservatory. Consequently, his assistant, Bunin, also lost his position and became, for a while, a persona non grata. He had to make his living by writing scores for other composers. His music has won, on several occasions, the Stalin Prize, but Bunin’s name did not appear, nor was mentioned to the selection committee.

Death and legacy

Revol Bunin died on July 3, 1976 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...

. He was mourned by his wife, Larisa, his friends and many students. He had no children. He was never awarded State honors, for he refused to join the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...

, in contrast with many of his colleagues.

Bunin wrote music scores for 48 motion pictures, cartoons and documentaries. He left 45 major compositions, including nine symphonies, numerous sonatas, quartets, trios, an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

, romances and several concertos for piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

. His viola concerto
Viola concerto
The viola concerto is a concerto contrasting a viola with another body of musical instruments, usually an orchestra or chamber music ensemble. Early examples of the viola concerto include, among others, Georg Philipp Telemann's concerto in G major, and several concertos by the Stamitz clan...

 (Op. 22) was composed in 1953 and dedicated to his close friend, violist Rudolf Barshai
Rudolf Barshai
Rudolf Borisovich Barshai was a Soviet/Russian conductor and violist.Barshai was born in Stanitsa Lobinskaya, Krasnodar Krai, and studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Lev Tseitlin and Vadim Borisovsky. He performed as a soloist as well as together with Sviatoslav Richter, David Oistrakh, and...

, who would later found and direct the Moscow chamber orchestra
Moscow Chamber Orchestra
The Moscow Chamber Orchestra is a Chamber Orchestra based in Moscow, Russia, and assigned to the Moscow Philharmonia, a State-run enterprise, formerly under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and now, Ministry of Culture of Russian Federation.-Founding, 1955 :Rudolf Barshai was a virtuoso...

.

Selected works

Stage
  • Masquerade (Маскарад), Opera (1944); after the drama Masquerade
    Masquerade (play)
    Masquerade is a verse play written in 1835 by the Russian Romantic writer Mikhail Lermontov. The four-act play, set in 1830's St. Petersburg aristocratic society, highlights the rebellious spirit and noble mind of the protagonist, Eugene Arbenin.-Plot:...

    by Mikhail Lermontov
    Mikhail Lermontov
    Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov , a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucasus", became the most important Russian poet after Alexander Pushkin's death in 1837. Lermontov is considered the supreme poet of Russian literature alongside Pushkin and the greatest...

  • Narodovoltsi (Народовольцы), Opera in 3 acts, 10 scenes with prologue and epilogue; libretto by A. Medvedev after the 1889 novel Andrei Kozhukhov (Андрей Кожухов) by Sergey Stepnyak-Kravchinsky


Orchestral
  • Symphony No. 1 (1943)
  • Symphony No. 2 (1945)
  • The Stone Guest (Каменный гость), Symphonic Poem after Alexander Pushkin (1949)
  • Overture-Fantasy (Увертюра-фантазия) (1953)
  • Symphony No. 3 (1957)
  • Symphony No. 4, Op. 30 (1959)
  • Symphony No. 5, Op. 32 (1961)
  • Concerto for chamber orchestra (1961)
  • Music for Strings (Музыка для струнных) in D minor, Op. 36 (1965)
  • Symphony No. 6, Op. 37 (1966)
  • 1967, Symphonic Poem, Op. 38 (1967)
  • Symphony No. 7 (1969)
  • Symphony No. 8 for chamber orchestra (1970)
  • Symphony No. 9 (1975)
  • Symphony No. 10


Concertante
  • Poem for viola and orchestra (1952)
  • Concerto in G major for viola and orchestra, Op. 22 (1953)
  • Concerto in G minor for organ and chamber orchestra, Op. 33 (1961)
  • Concerto in G minor for piano and orchestra, Op. 34 (1963)
  • Concertante Symphony (Концертная симфония), Concerto for violin and orchestra, Op. 43 (1972)


Chamber music
  • String Quartet No. 1 (1943)
  • Piano Quintet (1946)
  • Piano Trio (1946)
  • Sonata for violin and piano (1955)
  • Sonata in D minor for viola and piano, Op.26 (1955)
  • Suite for viola and piano (1955)
  • String Quartet No. 2, Op. 27 (1956)


Piano
  • Sonatina (1939)
  • Partita No. 1 for piano (1947)
  • Partita No. 2 for piano (1951)
  • Children's Album (Детский альбом) (1961)
  • Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 42 (1971)


Vocal
  • Lead Us On (Веди нас, дорога), Oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra after William Shakespeare
    William Shakespeare
    William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

    , Op. 35 (1964)
  • Несжатая полоса, Cycle of poems for chorus (1958); words by Nikolay Nekrasov
  • Songs on Poems of Sergei Yesenin (Романсы на стихи Сергея Есенина) for medium voice and piano; words by Sergei Yesenin
    Sergei Yesenin
    Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin was a Russian lyrical poet. He was one of the most popular and well-known Russian poets of the 20th century but committed suicide at the age of 30...



Film scores
  • Two Lives (Две жизни; also called "Сестры", Sisters) (1956); directed by Constantin Voinov
  • Ten Days That Shook the World (Десять дней, которые потрясли мир) (1968); after the 1919 book
    Ten Days that Shook the World
    Ten Days that Shook the World is a book by American journalist and socialist John Reed about the October Revolution in Russia in 1917 which Reed experienced firsthand. Reed followed many of the prominent Bolshevik leaders, especially Grigory Zinoviev and Karl Radek, closely during his time in Russia...

     by John Reed


Animated cartoons
  • Two Greedy Bears (Два жадных медвежонка) (1954)
  • Three Penguins (Три пингвина) (1961)
  • The Flying Proletarian (Летающий пролетарий) (1962)
  • Moskvichok (Москвичок) (1963)

Recordings

  • Concerto for viola and orchestra in G major opus 22 (1953) LP Melodiya
    Melodiya
    Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company/label of the Soviet Union.-History:It was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya"...

     D 5956-7: Radio Orchestra, Nikolai Anosov
    Nikolai Anosov
    Nikolai Pavlovich Anosov was a Russian conductor and pedagogue who conducted the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra after Lev Steinberg...

     (cond), Rudolf Barshai
    Rudolf Barshai
    Rudolf Borisovich Barshai was a Soviet/Russian conductor and violist.Barshai was born in Stanitsa Lobinskaya, Krasnodar Krai, and studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Lev Tseitlin and Vadim Borisovsky. He performed as a soloist as well as together with Sviatoslav Richter, David Oistrakh, and...

     (viola)
  • Sonata for viola and piano opus 26 LP Melodiya
    Melodiya
    Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company/label of the Soviet Union.-History:It was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya"...

     D 03972-3: Rudolf Barshai
    Rudolf Barshai
    Rudolf Borisovich Barshai was a Soviet/Russian conductor and violist.Barshai was born in Stanitsa Lobinskaya, Krasnodar Krai, and studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Lev Tseitlin and Vadim Borisovsky. He performed as a soloist as well as together with Sviatoslav Richter, David Oistrakh, and...

     (viola), Tatyana Nikolayeva (piano)
  • Concerto for organ and chamber orchestra in G minor opus 33 LP Melodiya
    Melodiya
    Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company/label of the Soviet Union.-History:It was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya"...

     D 10707-8: Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Rudolf Barshai
    Rudolf Barshai
    Rudolf Borisovich Barshai was a Soviet/Russian conductor and violist.Barshai was born in Stanitsa Lobinskaya, Krasnodar Krai, and studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Lev Tseitlin and Vadim Borisovsky. He performed as a soloist as well as together with Sviatoslav Richter, David Oistrakh, and...

     (cond), S. Dizhur (organ)
  • Concerto for piano and orchestra in G minor opus 34 (1963) LP Melodiya
    Melodiya
    Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company/label of the Soviet Union.-History:It was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya"...

     CM 02393-4: Moscow Chamber Orchestra, R. Barshai (cond), V. Devetzi (piano)
  • "Lead Us On", oratorio after W. Shakespeare opus 35 (1964) LP Melodiya
    Melodiya
    Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company/label of the Soviet Union.-History:It was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya"...

     CM 04277-8: Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Boys' Chorus, R. Barshai (conductor), V. Turchanovich (soprano), S. Yakovenko (bass)
  • Symphony No. 5 opus 45 (1961) LP Melodiya
    Melodiya
    Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company/label of the Soviet Union.-History:It was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya"...

     D 027253-4: Moscow PO, R. Barshai (cond) also on CD: 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...

     Cat No. 9010 "Historical Russian Archives"
  • Symphony No. 6 (1966) CD Revelation RV 10105: Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky
    Gennady Rozhdestvensky
    Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky is a Russian conductor.-Biography:Rozhdestvensky was born in Moscow. His parents were the noted conductor and pedagogue Nikolai Anosov and soprano Natalya Rozhdestvenskaya...

     (conductor)
  • Symphony No. 8 (1970) LP Melodiya
    Melodiya
    Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company/label of the Soviet Union.-History:It was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya"...

     C10 12859: USSR Cinematographic Orchestra, A. Lazarev (conductor)
  • Concerto for violin and orchestra "Concertante Symphony" opus 43 (1972) LP Melodiya C10 10311: USSR State SO, Alexander Lazarev
    Alexander Lazarev
    Alexander Lazarev is a Russian conductor. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and later at the Moscow Conservatory with Leo Ginsbourg. In 1971, he was the first prize winner in a national conducting competition in the USSR...

     (cond), Leonid Kogan (violin) also on CD: Revalation
  • Music for strings in D minor LP Melodiya
    Melodiya
    Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company/label of the Soviet Union.-History:It was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya"...

     CM 02393-4: Moscow Chamber Orchestra, R. Barshai (conductor)
  • Music to the Film "Ten Days That Shook the World" LP Melodiya
    Melodiya
    Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company/label of the Soviet Union.-History:It was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya"...

    C10 12859: USSR Cinematographic Orchestra, E. Khachaturian (conductor)

External links

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