A Frightening Experience Op. 98 - Music

A Frightening Experience Op. 98 by Александр Тихонович Гречанинов

Александр Тихонович Гречанинов

Artist Biography For Александр Тихонович Гречанинов

Alexander Tikhonovich Gretchaninov Russian Александр Тихонович Гречанинов 25 October O.S. 13 October 1864 Moscow – 3 January 1956 New York City Was A Russian Romantic Composer. Gretchaninov Started His Musical Studies Rather Late Because His Father A Businessman Had Expected The Boy To Take Over The Family Firm. Gretchaninov Himself Related That He Did Not See A Piano Until He Was 14 And Began His Studies At The Moscow Conservatory In 1881 Against His Father's Wishes And Without His Knowledge. His Main Teachers There Were Sergei Taneyev And Anton Arensky. In The Late 1880s After A Quarrel With Arensky He Moved To St. Petersburg Where He Studied Composition And Orchestration With Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Until 1893. Rimsky-Korsakov Immediately Recognized Gretchaninov's Extraordinary Musical Imagination And Talent And Gave Him Much Extra Time As Well As Considerable Financial Help. This Allowed The Young Man Whose Parents Were Not Supporting Him To Survive. Out Of This Came An Important Friendship Which Only Ended In 1908 With Rimsky's Death. As Such It Is Not Surprising That Rimsky's Influence Can Be Heard In Gretchaninov’s Early Works Such As His String Quartet No.1 A Prize-Winning Composition. Around 1896 Gretchaninov Returned To Moscow And Was Involved With Writing For The Theater The Opera And The Russian Orthodox Church. His Works Especially Those For Voice Achieved Considerable Success Within Russia While His Instrumental Works Enjoyed Even Wider Acclaim. By 1910 He Was Considered A Composer Of Such Distinction That The Tsar Awarded Him An Annual Pension. Though Gretchaninov Remained In Russia For Several Years After The Revolution He Ultimately Chose To Emigrate First To France In 1925 And Then To The United States In 1939. He Remained In The U.S. The Rest Of His Life And Eventually Became An American Citizen. He Died In New York At The Age Of 91 And Is Buried Outside The Church At Rova Farms A Russian Enclave In Jackson Township Ocean County New Jersey. Gretchaninov Wrote Five Symphonies The First Premiered By Rimsky-Korsakov Four String Quartets The First Two Of Which Won Important Prizes Two Piano Trios Sonatas For Violin Cello Clarinet Piano And Balalaika Several Operas Song Cycle Les Fleurs Du Mal Op. 48 Setting Lyrics By Baudelaire And Much Other Music. Like Vladimir Rebikov His Position In The History Of Russian Music Was Mainly Transitional His Earlier Music Belonging Firmly In That Earlier Romantic Tradition While His Later Work Is Influenced By Some Of The Streams That Also Affected Igor Stravinsky And Sergei Prokofiev. Works
Orchestral
Symphony No.1 Op.6 1894 Cello Concerto Op.8 1895 Symphony No.2 Op.27 1908 Symphony No.3 Op.100 1923 Symphony No.4 Op.102 1927 Violin Concerto Op.132 1932 Symphony No.5 Op.153 1936 Concerto For Flute Harp And Strings Op.159 1938 Secular Vocal
Several Operas
Lieder A Cycle "Les Fleurs Du Mal" Op. 48 Sonetti Romani Op. 160 For Voice And Piano Russian Text Piazza Di Spagna Op. 160 N. 1
Fontana Della Tartaruga Op. 160 N. 2
Triton Op. 160 N. 3
Il Tramontare Del Sole Al Pincio Op. 160 N. 4
Fontana Di Trevi Op. 160 N. 5
Vers La Victoire Toward Victory 1943 Liturgical Vocal
Passion Week Op.58 1911 All-Night Vigil Op.59 1912 Kvalite Boga Op.65 1915 Liturgica Domestica Op.79 1917 Missa Oecumenica Op.142 1936 Missa Festiva Op.154 1937 Missa Sancti Spiritus Op.169 1940 Et In Terra Pax Mass Op.166 1942 Chamber Music
Four String Quartets 1893 1914 1916 1929 Two Piano Trios 1906 1931 Two Piano Sonatas 1931 1942 Pieces For Solo Piano