Pulver Lev
Encyclopedia
Lev Mikhaylovich Pulver was a Russian
-Jewish musician
. He was born on the 6(18) of December, 1883, in Verkhnedneprovsk, near Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipropetrovsk
),former Russian Empire
(now Ukraine
), and died on the 18 of March, 1970 in Moscow
, Russia
. He was an offspring of a renowned klezmorim
's family.
Pulver studied violin
since early childhood,first with his father; later on, he studied with his brother-in-law, a disciple of Czech violin
ist Otakar Sevcik
. Pulver graduated from St. Petersburg Conservatory, where he studied violin and composition
under A.K. Lyadov.
Initially,he was a violinist and composer in a wandering Ukrainian
theatre
-group. Later on, he was a symphonic concert-master and conductor
, a founding member of the Stradivari Quartet
. He was the Musical Director of the State Jewish Theatre in Moscow (the GOSET). Pulver was awarded the titles of People's Artist of RSFSR and Distinguished Arts Master of RSFSR.
, including Shakespeare's King Lear, Sholom Aleichem
's 200.000 and The Man of the Air, Adventures of Benjamin the Third after Mendele Mocher Sforim
, Abraham Goldfaden
's The Sorceress (in collaboration with Joseph Achron
), Zalman Shneyer's Freylekhs (in collaboration with Maximilian Shteynberg); operetta
s (Gulliver, Inside the Big Top,What is her name?); movie-scores; songs; Yiddish folk-songs arrangement
s. Some of his tunes have been considered as Jewish folklore
. He was of the important musicians bridging the traditional Eastern European Jewish music
with the Western classical music forms.
/
...(My) father started a job at Mikhoels’ Jewish Theatre .That theatre might have been considered as a musical one. In charge of the orchestra and of all the musical life (there) was an energetic gifted man – Lev Pulver.All of the music was written by him, and he conducted as well. Their productions reminded of the today’s musicals. /Kirill Kondrashin/
and Benjamin Zuskin
,as well as by singers Solomon Khromchenko
, Misha Alexandrovich
, Nekhama Lifshitz, Marina Gordon
, actors Emil Gorovets, Boris Landau.
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
-Jewish musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. He was born on the 6(18) of December, 1883, in Verkhnedneprovsk, near Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
),former Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(now Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), and died on the 18 of March, 1970 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...
, 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...
. He was an offspring of a renowned klezmorim
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
's family.
Pulver studied 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....
since early childhood,first with his father; later on, he studied with his brother-in-law, a disciple of Czech 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....
ist Otakar Sevcik
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:...
. Pulver graduated from St. Petersburg Conservatory, where he studied violin and composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
under A.K. Lyadov.
Initially,he was a violinist and composer in a wandering Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
-group. Later on, he was a symphonic concert-master and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, a founding member of the Stradivari Quartet
Quartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
. He was the Musical Director of the State Jewish Theatre in Moscow (the GOSET). Pulver was awarded the titles of People's Artist of RSFSR and Distinguished Arts Master of RSFSR.
Compositions
Pulver composed: incidental musicIncidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
, including Shakespeare's King Lear, Sholom Aleichem
Sholom Aleichem
Sholem Aleichem was the pen name of Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich, a leading Yiddish author and playwright...
's 200.000 and The Man of the Air, Adventures of Benjamin the Third after Mendele Mocher Sforim
Mendele Mocher Sforim
Mendele Mocher Sforim , December 21, 1835 = January 2, 1836 , Kapyl — November 25, 1917 = December 8, 1917...
, Abraham Goldfaden
Abraham Goldfaden
Abraham Goldfaden ; was an Russian-born Jewish poet, playwright, stage director and actor in the languages Yiddish and Hebrew, author of some 40 plays.Goldfaden is considered the father of the Jewish modern theatre.In 1876 he founded in...
's The Sorceress (in collaboration with Joseph Achron
Joseph Achron
Joseph Yulyevich Achron, also seen as Akhron was a Russian composer and violinist of Jewish origin, settled in USA. His preoccupation with Jewish elements and his desire to develop a 'Jewish' harmonic and contrapuntal idiom, underscored and informed much of his work...
), Zalman Shneyer's Freylekhs (in collaboration with Maximilian Shteynberg); operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
s (Gulliver, Inside the Big Top,What is her name?); movie-scores; songs; Yiddish folk-songs arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s. Some of his tunes have been considered as Jewish folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
. He was of the important musicians bridging the traditional Eastern European Jewish music
Jewish music
Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish People which have evolved over time throughout the long course of Jewish History. In some instances Jewish Music is of a religious nature, spiritual songs and refrains are common in Jewish Services throughout the world, while other times, it is...
with the Western classical music forms.
Artists about Lev Pulver
L.M. Pulver has a sophisticated sense of incidental music’s essence./.../.Pulver is especially aware of those moments in scenic plots when a direct calling for the music to sound is there. Moreover, this is not surprising: he started playing since nine years of age as a wandering weddings-musician. Thereafter, while being an already accomplished musician, he went on with playing in theaters, first at the orchestra of the Ukrainian Opera , then at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. His theatrical experience left a lasting impression on all of his works. His music is effectively theatrical./Solomon MikhoelsSolomon Mikhoels
Solomon Mikhoels ; was a Soviet Jewish actor and the artistic director of the Moscow State Jewish Theater. Mikhoels served as the chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee during the Second World War...
/
...(My) father started a job at Mikhoels’ Jewish Theatre .That theatre might have been considered as a musical one. In charge of the orchestra and of all the musical life (there) was an energetic gifted man – Lev Pulver.All of the music was written by him, and he conducted as well. Their productions reminded of the today’s musicals. /Kirill Kondrashin/
Recordings
A few recordings of his music are available featuring the performances of the GOSET orchestra with Solomon MikhoelsSolomon Mikhoels
Solomon Mikhoels ; was a Soviet Jewish actor and the artistic director of the Moscow State Jewish Theater. Mikhoels served as the chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee during the Second World War...
and Benjamin Zuskin
Benjamin Zuskin
Benjamin Zuskin was a Jewish actor and director in Moscow State Jewish Theater. Zuskin had a title of the People's actor of the Russian SFSR. He was a laureate of the Stalin Prize in 1946.- Biography :...
,as well as by singers Solomon Khromchenko
Solomon Khromchenko
Solomon Markovich Khromchenko – Russian and Jewish singer, tenor....
, Misha Alexandrovich
Misha Alexandrovich
Mikhail Davidovich Alexandrovich was a Latvian tenor, and cantor, internationally acclaimed as a fine performer of classical and popular repertoire in several languages.-Biography:...
, Nekhama Lifshitz, Marina Gordon
Marina Gordon
Marina Gordon – singer,coloratura soprano.She has been known as a performer of popular songs written to lyrics by contemporaneous authors in Yiddish, Russian and in the USSR and in the USA.-Life and career:...
, actors Emil Gorovets, Boris Landau.