Arseny Koreshchenko Explained

Arseny Nikolayevich Koreshchenko (Russian: Арсений Николаевич Корещенко, 18 December 1870  - 6 January 1921) was a pianist and composer of classical music, including operas and ballets. He was from the Russian Empire.

Biography

Koreshchenko was born in Moscow in 1870. He entered the Moscow Conservatory, graduating in 1891. He was only the second person ever to be awarded the Conservatory's Great Gold Medal; the first was one of his teachers, Sergei Taneyev, and the third was Sergei Rachmaninoff.^[1] He also studied theory under Anton Arensky.

He stayed with his alma mater as a professor of harmony and also taught counterpoint at the Moscow Synodal School.

He died in Kharkov in 1921.

List of works

Opera

• Belshazzar's Feast, Op. 7 (1 act, produced Moscow, 1892)
• The Angel of Death, Op. 10 (2 acts, based on Mikhail Lermontov)
• The Ice Palace, Op. 38 (based on Ivan Lazhechnikov's play; produced Moscow 1900)

Ballet

• The Magic Mirror, Op. 39

Incidental music

• The Trojan Women (Euripides), Op. 15
• Iphigenia in Aulis (Euripides), Op. 18

Choral works

• Don Juan, cantata, Op. 5
• Armenian Songs, Op. 8
• Prologue for the 25th anniversary of the Moscow Conservatory, Op. 9
• Armenian Songs, Op. 13
• Georgian Songs, Op. 27c
• other (Opp. 16, 29, 32, 37)

Orchestral

• Barcarolle, Op. 6
• A Tale, Op. 11
• Scène poétique, Op. 12
• Two Symphonic Sketches, Op. 14
• Armenian Suite, Op. 20 (also arranged for piano 4 hands)
• Scènes nocturnes, Op. 21
• Symphony No. 1 Lyric, Op. 23
• Musical Picture, Op. 27a

Concertante

• Concert Fantasy in D minor, for piano and orchestra (or two pianos), Op. 3 (pub. 1895)

Chamber

• String Quartet, Op. 25
• Two pieces for Cello and Piano, Op. 34 (?1898, ded. Anatoliy Brandukov) (1. Sonnet d’amour, A major; 2. Barcarolle, A minor)

Piano

• Trois Morceaux, Op. 1 (1893) (1. Berceuse; 2. Étude; 3. Polonaise)
• Suite Armeniènne, Op. 20 (5 pieces) (arr. of the orchestral suite for pf duet and pf solo by the composer, pub. 1897) (1. Au ruisseau (Lento non troppo); 2. Scherzo (Allegro moderato); 3. Tempo di valse; 4. Danse armenienne (Allegretto grazioso e non troppo); 5. Finale (Lesghinka) (Allegro ma non troppo))
• Scènes Enfantines, Op. 22 (6 pieces, 1898, ded. Josef Hoffman) (1. L'ogre; 2. Petit scherzo; 3. Petite marche; 4. Complainte; 5. Menuet; 6. Valse à la Neapolitaine)
• Quatre Morceaux, Op. 30 (1897) (1. Nocturne; 2. Gavotte; 3. Rapsodie Georgiènne No. 1; 4. Rapsodie Georgiènne No. 2)
• Morceaux Caractéristiques, Op. 40 (1904, ded. Alexander Goldenweiser) (1. Prélude; 2. Intermezzo; 3. Aveu; 4. Barcarolle; 5. Une page de mes mémoires; 6. Quéstion douloureuse; 7. Impromptu)
• Piano Pieces, Op. 47 (1915) (of which no. 7 is an Impromptu, A flat major)
• other (Opp. 19, 33)

Songs

• about 80 songs (Opp. 2, 26, 28, 31, 35, 36)

Sources

• Eric Blom, ed., Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., 1954

Notes and References

1. https://books.google.com/books?id=KM-dgfOaIIkC&dq=Koreshchenko+gold+medal&pg=PA46 Sergei Rachmaninoff, Bertensson, Leyda, Satina