Konstantin Saradzhev
Encyclopedia
Konstantin Saradzhev was an Armenia
n conductor and violinist. He was an advocate of new Russia
n music, and conducted a number of premieres of works by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
, Modest Mussorgsky
, Igor Stravinsky
, Sergei Prokofiev
, Nikolai Myaskovsky
, Dmitri Shostakovich
, and Aram Khachaturian
. His son Konstantin Konstantinovich Saradzhev
was a noted bell ringer and musical theorist.
, Dagestan
, in 1877; his father was a doctor. He attended the Moscow Conservatory
, where he studied violin under Jan Hřímalý
and theory under Sergei Taneyev
, graduating in 1898. He then became a teacher and concert performer. He had further violin study with Otakar Ševčík
in Prague
in 1900. In 1901 he became conductor of the Moscow Opera Lovers' Club. He also formed his own string quartet
. From 1904 to 1908 he studied conducting with Arthur Nikisch
in Leipzig
. On return to Russia he conducted the summer symphony concerts at Sokolniki Park
in 1908, 1910 and 1911. He became director of the State Institute of Theatrical Art. On 8 October 1913 he conducted the first performance of Mussorgsky
's much-delayed and still incomplete comic opera The Fair at Sorochyntsi at the Free Theatre in Moscow.
Saradzhev was an advocate of new music. In 1901 he was a member of a circle of Scriabinists
that included the pianist and teacher Alexander Goldenweiser
, the pianist Maria Nemenova-Lunts, the writer and critic Vladimir Derzhanovsky and others. In 1909 Derzhanovsky, his wife Elena Koposova-Derzhanovskaya and Saradzhev organized "Evenings of Modern Music" in Moscow. He conducted the first professional and first fully rehearsed performance of Stravinsky
's Symphony in E flat, Op. 1 (Moscow, 22 August 1912, in the very first concert ever devoted entirely to Stravinsky's music).
Saradzhev conducted the premiere of Sergei Prokofiev
's Piano Concerto No. 1
(25 July/7 August 1912; with the composer as soloist). Prokofiev later wrote that Saradzhev "realized splendidly all my tempos".
Saradzhev served in the army in World War I, not returning to Moscow until after the Russian Civil War
. He became involved with the Association for Contemporary Music and founded the Evenings of Contemporary Music in 1923. He was professor of conducting at Moscow Conservatory 1922-35, where his notable students included Boris Khaykin and Lev Oborin
.
Saradzhev conducted the first Soviet performance of Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto
(22 March 1925, Orchestra of the Theatre of the Revolution; soloist Samuil Feinberg
). In 1927 he conducted the Moscow premiere of Shostakovich
's Symphony No. 2
To October, which followed the world premiere under Nikolai Malko
in Leningrad
on 5 November, and was the first performance to include the revisions that Shostakovich had made after that premiere.
He was a leading advocate of Nikolai Myaskovsky
's music. He conducted the first performances of Myaskovsky's symphonic poem
Silence, Op. 9 (which was dedicated to him), and his symphonies No. 8 (Moscow, 23 May 1926), No. 9 (Moscow, 29 April 1928), and No. 11 (16 January 1933). Myaskovsky's Symphony No. 10 was dedicated to Saradzhev. In 1934 Myaskovsky wrote a Preludium and Fughetta on the name Saradzhev (for orchestra, Op. 31H; he also arranged it for piano 4-hands, Op. 31J).
The world premiere of the revised version of Prokofiev's Sinfonietta in A major
, Op. 5/48 was under Konstantin Saradzhev's baton (Moscow, 18 November 1930).
He was a conductor of the Voronezh
State Symphony Orchestra and in 1931 – this was 38 years after the composer died and 65 years after it was written – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
's Concert Overture in C minor
finally received an airing, under Saradzhev's baton in Voronezh.
He later became musical director and principal conductor of the Yerevan
Opera and Ballet Theatre. In September 1939 he conducted the premiere of Aram Khachaturian
's first ballet Happiness. From 1939 until his death he was director of the Yerevan Conservatory, and taught the orchestra, opera and conducting classes. His notable students there included Alexander Kopylov. He was principal conductor of the Armenian Philharmonia 1941-44.
He died in Yerevan in 1954, aged 76.
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n conductor and violinist. He was an advocate of new Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n music, and conducted a number of premieres of works by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
, Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period...
, Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, 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:...
, Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
, and Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
. His son Konstantin Konstantinovich Saradzhev
Konstantin Konstantinovich Saradzhev
Konstantin Konstantinovich Saradzhev was a Russian bell ringer, composer, and musical theorist.The son of the conductor and violinist Konstantin Saradzhev, K.K. Saradzhev was strongly affected by hearing a powerful church bell at the age of seven and became a musician specializing in bells...
was a noted bell ringer and musical theorist.
Biography
He was born Konstantin Solomonovich Saradzhian in DerbentDerbent
Derbent |Lak]]: Чурул, Churul; Persian: دربند; Judæo-Tat: דארבּאנד/Дэрбэнд/Dərbənd) is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, close to the Azerbaijani border. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second most important city of Dagestan...
, Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
, in 1877; his father was a doctor. He attended 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...
, where he studied violin under Jan Hřímalý
Jan Hřímalý
Jan Hřímalý Jan Hřímalý Jan Hřímalý (also seen as Ivan Voitsekhovich Grzhimali (Иван Войцехович Гржимали (13 April 1844 – 11/24 January 1915) was an influential Czech violinist and teacher, who was associated with the Moscow Conservatory for 46 years 1869-1915....
and theory under Sergei Taneyev
Sergei Taneyev
Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev , was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of composition, music theorist and author.-Life:...
, graduating in 1898. He then became a teacher and concert performer. He had further violin study with Otakar Ševčík
Otakar Ševcík
Otakar Ševčík was a Czech violinist and influential teacher. He was known as a soloist and an ensemble player, including his occasional performances with Eugène Ysaÿe.-Biography:...
in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
in 1900. In 1901 he became conductor of the Moscow Opera Lovers' Club. He also formed his own string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
. From 1904 to 1908 he studied conducting with Arthur Nikisch
Arthur Nikisch
Arthur Nikisch ; 12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London and - most importantly - Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Liszt...
in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. On return to Russia he conducted the summer symphony concerts at Sokolniki Park
Sokolniki Park
Sokolniki Park, named for the falcon hunt of the Grand Dukes of Muscovy formerly conducted there, is located in the eponymous Sokolniki District of Moscow. Sokolniki Park is not far from the center of the city, near Sokolnicheskaya Gate. The park gained its name from the Sokolnichya Quarter, the...
in 1908, 1910 and 1911. He became director of the State Institute of Theatrical Art. On 8 October 1913 he conducted the first performance of Mussorgsky
Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period...
's much-delayed and still incomplete comic opera The Fair at Sorochyntsi at the Free Theatre in Moscow.
Saradzhev was an advocate of new music. In 1901 he was a member of a circle of Scriabinists
Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist who initially developed a lyrical and idiosyncratic tonal language inspired by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Quite independent of the innovations of Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed an increasingly atonal musical system,...
that included the pianist and teacher Alexander Goldenweiser
Alexander Goldenweiser
Alexander Goldenweiser may refer to:* Alexander Goldenweiser , American anthropologist* Alexander Goldenweiser , Russian composer, pianist and teacher...
, the pianist Maria Nemenova-Lunts, the writer and critic Vladimir Derzhanovsky and others. In 1909 Derzhanovsky, his wife Elena Koposova-Derzhanovskaya and Saradzhev organized "Evenings of Modern Music" in Moscow. He conducted the first professional and first fully rehearsed performance of Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
's Symphony in E flat, Op. 1 (Moscow, 22 August 1912, in the very first concert ever devoted entirely to Stravinsky's music).
Saradzhev conducted the premiere of Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
's Piano Concerto No. 1
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Prokofiev)
Sergei Prokofiev set about composing his Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat major, Op. 10 in 1911 and finished it in 1912. A one-movement concerto, it is the shortest of his five complete piano concertos, lasting only around a quarter of an hour.- Structure :...
(25 July/7 August 1912; with the composer as soloist). Prokofiev later wrote that Saradzhev "realized splendidly all my tempos".
Saradzhev served in the army in World War I, not returning to Moscow until after the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. He became involved with the Association for Contemporary Music and founded the Evenings of Contemporary Music in 1923. He was professor of conducting at Moscow Conservatory 1922-35, where his notable students included Boris Khaykin and Lev Oborin
Lev Oborin
Lev Nikolayevich Oborin was a Russian pianist. He was the winner of the first International Chopin Piano Competition in 1927.The family moved a lot during his early childhood. When they settled down in Moscow in 1914, he was sent to music school. He studied with Yelena Gnessin, a pupil of...
.
Saradzhev conducted the first Soviet performance of Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto
Piano Concerto No. 3 (Prokofiev)
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26 is the best-known concerto by Sergei Prokofiev. It was completed in 1921 using sketches first started in 1913.-Composition and performances:...
(22 March 1925, Orchestra of the Theatre of the Revolution; soloist Samuil Feinberg
Samuil Feinberg
Samuil Yevgenyevich Feinberg was a Russian and Soviet composer and pianist. Raised in Moscow, he entered the Moscow Conservatory and studied under Alexander Goldenweiser. He is most remembered today for his complete recording of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier and many transcriptions. Feinberg...
). In 1927 he conducted the Moscow premiere of Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
's Symphony No. 2
Symphony No. 2 (Shostakovich)
Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No. 2 in B major, Opus 14 and subtitled To October, for the 10th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was first performed by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra and the Academy Capella Choir under Nikolai Malko, on 5 November 1927...
To October, which followed the world premiere under Nikolai Malko
Nikolai Malko
-Biography:Malko was born in Semaky, Ukraine. His father was Ukrainian, his mother Russian. He studied philology at St Petersburg University. He published articles on music criticism in the Russian press and performed as a pianist and later a conductor. In 1906 he completed his studies in history...
in Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
on 5 November, and was the first performance to include the revisions that Shostakovich had made after that premiere.
He was a leading advocate of 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:...
's music. He conducted the first performances of Myaskovsky's symphonic poem
Symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in a single continuous section in which the content of a poem, a story or novel, a painting, a landscape or another source is illustrated or evoked. The term was first applied by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt to his 13 works in this vein...
Silence, Op. 9 (which was dedicated to him), and his symphonies No. 8 (Moscow, 23 May 1926), No. 9 (Moscow, 29 April 1928), and No. 11 (16 January 1933). Myaskovsky's Symphony No. 10 was dedicated to Saradzhev. In 1934 Myaskovsky wrote a Preludium and Fughetta on the name Saradzhev (for orchestra, Op. 31H; he also arranged it for piano 4-hands, Op. 31J).
The world premiere of the revised version of Prokofiev's Sinfonietta in A major
Sinfonietta (Prokofiev)
Sinfonietta in A major is a composition by Sergei Prokofiev.-Background:Sergei Prokofiev wrote his Sinfonietta in A major, Op. 5, in 1909 and dedicated it to Nikolai Tcherepnin, his conducting professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory....
, Op. 5/48 was under Konstantin Saradzhev's baton (Moscow, 18 November 1930).
He was a conductor of the Voronezh
Voronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
State Symphony Orchestra and in 1931 – this was 38 years after the composer died and 65 years after it was written – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's Concert Overture in C minor
The Storm (Tchaikovsky)
The Storm, Op. posth. 76, is an overture in E minor composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between June and August 1864. The work is inspired by the play The Storm by the Russian playwright Alexander Ostrovsky...
finally received an airing, under Saradzhev's baton in Voronezh.
He later became musical director and principal conductor of the Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
Opera and Ballet Theatre. In September 1939 he conducted the premiere of Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
's first ballet Happiness. From 1939 until his death he was director of the Yerevan Conservatory, and taught the orchestra, opera and conducting classes. His notable students there included Alexander Kopylov. He was principal conductor of the Armenian Philharmonia 1941-44.
He died in Yerevan in 1954, aged 76.