Sergei Vasilenko Explained

Sergei Vasilenko
Birth Name:	Sergei Nikiforovich Vasilenko
Birth Date:	30 March 1872
Birth Place:	Moscow
Death Place:	Moscow
Occupation:	Composer, conductor
Alma Mater:	Imperial Moscow University (1896)

Sergei Nikiforovich Vasilenko (Russian: Серге́й Никифорович Василенко, Sergej Nikiforovič Vasilenko; – 11 March 1956) was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor and music teacher whose compositions showed a strong tendency towards mysticism.^[1]

Vasilenko was born in Moscow and originally studied law at Moscow State University, but then changed direction and studied at the Moscow Conservatory from 1896 to 1901 as a pupil of Sergei Taneyev and Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov.^[2] From 1903 to 1904 he was the conductor of a private opera house in Moscow.^[3] For several years he was the organiser and conductor of the Historic Concerts of the Russian Musical Society. He then became a Professor at the Moscow Conservatory, where his students included Aram Khachaturian, Nikolai Roslavets, Nikolai Rakov and Aarre Merikanto.^[4]

Vasilenko was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour as well as the title People's Artist of the RSFSR. In 1947, he was awarded the Stalin Prize.^[5] He died in Moscow in 1956.

Selected works

Opera

• Skazaniye o grade velikom Kitezhe i tikhom ozere Svetoyare (Tale of the Great City of Kitezh and the Quiet Lake Svetoyar) (1902; originally a cantata, Op. 5)^[6]
• Sïn solntsa (The Son of the Sun), Op. 63 (1929)
• Khristofor Kolumb (Christopher Columbus), Op. 80 (1933)
• Buran (The Snow Storm), Op. 98 (1939)^[7]
• Velikiy kanal (The Grand Canal), Op. 101 (1939)
• Suvorov, Op. 102 (1942)

Ballet

• In the Rays of the Sun, Op. 17 (1925–26)
• Noya, Op. 42 (1923)
• Joseph the Handsome, Op. 50 (1925)
• Lola, Op. 52 (1926)
• The Gypsies, Op. 90 (1936; after Alexander Pushkin)
• The Frog Princess, Op. 103 (1941)
• Mirandolina

Choral

• Cantata Legend of the Great City of Kitezh and the Quiet Lake Svetoyar, Op, 5 (later turned into an opera that anticipated Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's work on the same subject)
• Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution, Op. 92 (1937)

Incidental music

• Euripides' Alcestis (written as a schoolboy)
• other works

Orchestral

• Three Bloody Battles, Op. 1 (1900)
• Epic Poem, Op. 4 (1900–03)
• Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Op. 10 (1904–06)
• The Garden of Death, symphonic poem after Oscar Wilde, Op. 13 (1907–08)
• Sappho, symphonic poem, Op. 14 (1909)
• Flight of the Witches, symphonic poem, Op. 15 (1908–09)
• Au soleil, symphonic poem, Op. 17
• Fantastic Waltz, Op. 18 (1912)
• Symphony No. 2 in F major, Op. 22
• Suite on lute music of the 14th to 17th centuries, Op. 24 (1914)
• Zodiac, suite on French themes of the 18th century, Op. 27 (1914)
• Exotic Suite, Op. 29 (1915–16)
• Indian Suite, Op. 42bis
• Chinese Suite, No. 1, Op. 60 (1928)
• Turkmenian Suite, Op. 68 (1931)
• Chinese Suite, No. 2, Op. 70 (1931)
• Merry-go-round, 8 Soviet dances, Op. 73 (1932)
• The Soviet East, suite, Op. 75 (1932)
• Red Army Rhapsody, Op. 77 (1932)
• film music for Boris Barnet's Outskirts (1933)
• Slavonic Rhapsody (1937)

Concertante

• Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 25 (1910–13)
• Concerto for symphony orchestra and brass band (1928)
• Suite on Russian Folk Themes, balalaika and accordion (1928)
• Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, Op. 113
• Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor, Op. 128

Chamber

• String Quartet in A, Op. 3 (c. 1901)
• Sonata in D minor for viola and piano, Op. 46 (1923); version for violin and piano (1955)
• String Quartet in E minor, Op. 58 (c. 1928)
• Quartet on Turkmenian Themes, for flute, oboe (English horn), clarinet, bassoon and percussion ad lib., Op. 65 (1932)
• Piano Trio in A, Op. 74 (1932)
• Japanese Suite for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, xylophone and piano, Op. 66a (1938)
• Chinese Sketches, woodwind, Op. 78 (1938)
• Quartet on American Themes, woodwind, Op. 79 (1938)

Military band

• March of the Red Army, Op. 64 (1929)
• Fantasy on Revolutionary Songs of the West, Op. 71 (1931)

Other

• songs (including settings of Māori, Sinhalese, Indian and Japanese tunes)
• folksong arrangements (including Negro and Turkmenian melodies)
• piano pieces

Recordings

• Sergei Vasilenko: Viola and Piano Music (Complete) - Viola Sonata, Op. 46 / Lullaby / 4 Pieces on Themes of Lute Music of the 16-17th Centuries, Op. 35 / Sleeping River / Oriental Dance, Op. 47 / Suite Zodiakus I.A.S, Op. 27 / 4 Pieces (1953) - Elena Artamonova (viola) and Nicholas Walker (piano). Toccata Classics TOCC0127, released 2011
• "The Russian Connection" - Hexagon Ensemble. Etcetera Records KTC1246, released 2001 - includes Sergei Vasilenko: Quartet on Turkmenian Themes Op.65

Further reading

• Book: Imperial Moscow University: 1755-1917: encyclopedic dictionary . A. Andreev, D. Tsygankov . Moscow . 2010 . Russian political encyclopedia (ROSSPEN) . 114–115 . 978-5-8243-1429-8. Imperial Moscow University.
• A. Eaglefield-Hull (ed), A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians (Dent, London 1924)
• Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed. (1954)

See also

See also: Vasilenko.

External links

• Brief biography and list of works

Notes and References

1. Artamonova. Elena. Unknown Sergey Vasilenko And His Viola Compositions: Recent Discoveries In Russian Archives. Journal OF THE AMERICAN VIOLA SOCIETY. 28. 1. 33–47.
2. Web site: Сергей Василенко (II). 2020-12-10. Кино-Театр.РУ.
3. Web site: персоналии - Василенко Сергей Никифорович. 2020-12-10. www.mosconsv.ru. ru.
4. Web site: Сергей Никифорович Василенко (Sergei Vasilenko) Belcanto.ru. 2020-12-10. www.belcanto.ru.
5. Рогаль-Левицкий. Дмитрий. 1947. Творческий путь С. Н. Василенко. Музыкальная Академия. 2. 7–19.
6. Е. А.. Артамонова. 2015. Композитор Сергей Василенко и его вклад в Русскую музыкальную культуру. Художественное Образование и Наука. 96–103.
7. Web site: Сергей Никифорович Василенко - Персоны - Санкт-Петербургская академическая филармония имени Д.Д. Шостаковича. 2020-12-10. www.philharmonia.spb.ru.