Nicolas Nabokov

Nicolas Nabokov(Николай Дмитриевич Набоков; 17 April [O.S.4 April] 1903 – 6 April 1978) was aRussian-borncomposer, writer, and cultural figure. He became aU.S. citizenin 1939.

Nicolas Nabokov with his cousin, the writer Vladimir Nabokov (c. 1970s). (Left to right.)

Life

Nicolas Nabokov, a first cousin ofVladimir Nabokov,and of the baronEduard von Falz-Fein,was born to a family oflandedRussiangentryin the town ofLubczanearMinsk,and was educated by private tutors. In 1918, after his family fled theBolshevik Revolutionto theCrimea,he began his musical education withVladimir Rebikov.After living briefly in Germany he settled in Paris in 1923, where he studied at theSorbonne.

Nabokov was married five times. His first wife was the Russian princess Nathalie Shakhovskaya (1903–1988). His last (1970–1978) was the French photographer Dominique Nabokov.

He had three sons: renowned French publisher Ivan Nabokov,Alexander Nabokov, and anthropologist Peter Nabokov.His close friends included the philosopher and fellow émigréIsaiah Berlinand composerIgor Stravinsky.

Career

After the years in Paris 1923–1932, in 1933 he moved to the U.S. as a lecturer in music for theBarnes Foundation.He taught music atWells Collegein New York from 1936 to 1941, then moved toSt. John's Collegein Maryland. In 1945, he worked for theU. S. Strategic Bombing Surveyin Germany, on the suggestion ofW. H. Auden,and stayed to work as a civilian cultural advisor in occupied Germany. Back in the US, he taught at thePeabody Conservatoryfrom the fall of 1944 until the spring of 1945, then, in 1950–1951, served as music director at theAmerican Academy in Rome.

In 1949, Nabokov attended a New York press conference of the visiting Soviet composerDmitri Shostakovichand publicly humiliated him by showing he was not a free agent and had to represent the positions ofStalin's government, by asking him if he approved the Sovietic censorship overStravinsky's music, to which Shostakovich had no option than replying that he did. In 1951, Nabokov becameSecretary Generalof the newly formedCongress for Cultural Freedom(CCF), backed by theCIA,and remained in the job for more than fifteen years, organizing music and cultural festivals. With the effective dissolution of the CCF in 1967, Nabokov found a series of teaching jobs at American universities, and in 1970, became resident composer at theAspen Institute for Humanistic Studies,where he remained until 1973. Although he was well-connected socially, very little of his music has been recorded as of November 2010.

Works, editions and recordings

• Nabokov's first major musical work was the ballet-oratorioOde,forSerge Diaghilev'sBallets Russes,in 1928, followed by hisLyrical Symphonyin 1931. The ode was on verses ofMikhail Lomonosov"Вечернее размышление о Божием величестве", ballet-oratorio Paris 1928.
• balletUnion Pacific,composed in 1934 forBallet Russe de Monte-Carlo,choreography byLéonide Massine,libretto byArchibald MacLeish,premiered inPhiladelphiaand later in New York with a great success – his best known work in the US.
• operaRasputin's End(librettobyStephen Spender) in 1958.
• ballet onDon Quixotein 1966.
• operaLove's Labour's Lost(librettobyW. H. AudenandChester Kallman) was composed in 1971 and performed in 1973.

External links

• Nicolas Nabokov's Collectionat theHarry Ransom CenteratThe University of Texas at Austin
• Nicolas Nabokov Papers.General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.