Georgy Sviridov

Georgy Sviridov
Georgy Sviridovc. 1939
Born	Georgy Vasilyevich Sviridov (1915-12-16)16 December 1915 Fatezh,Kursk Governorate,Russian Empire
Died	6 January 1998(1998-01-06)(aged 82) Moscow, Russia
Resting place	Novodevichy Cemetery,Moscow
Occupation	Composer

Georgy Vasilyevich Sviridov(Russian:Георгий Васильевич Свиридов;16 December 1915 – 6 January 1998) was a Soviet and Russian composer. He is most widely known for his choral music, strongly influenced by the traditionalchantof theRussian Orthodox Church,as well as his orchestral works which often celebrate elements of Russian culture.

Sviridov employed, especially in his choral music, rich and dense harmonic textures, embracing a romantic-eratonality;his works would come to incorporate not only sacred elements of Russian church music, including vocal work for thebasso profundo,but also the influence of Eastern European folk music, 19th-century European romantic composers (especiallyPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky), and neoromantic contemporaries outside of Russia. He wrote musical settings of Russian Romantic poetry by poets such asMikhail Lermontov,Fyodor Tyutchev,andAlexander Blok.Sviridov enjoyed critical acclaim for much of his career in the Soviet Union and Russia.

Early life and youth

Sviridov was born in 1915 in the town ofFatezhin theKursk Governorateof theRussian Empire(present-dayKursk Oblast) in a family of Russian ethnicity.His father, Vasily Sviridov, aBolsheviksympathizer during theRussian Civil War,was killed when Georgy was four. The family moved toKursk,where Sviridov, still in elementary school, learned to play his first instrument, thebalalaika.Learning to play by ear, he demonstrated such talent and ability that he was accepted into the local orchestra of Russian folk instruments. He enrolled in a music school in 1929, and following the advice of his teacher, M. Krutinsky, went toLeningradin 1932, where he studied piano at the Leningrad Central Music College, graduating in 1936. From 1936 to 1941, Sviridov studied at theLeningrad ConservatoryunderPyotr Ryazanov,thenDmitri Shostakovich.Mobilized into theRed Armyin 1941, just days after his graduation from the conservatory, Sviridov was sent to a military academy inUfa,but was discharged by the end of the year due to poor health.

Musical legacy

In 1935, Sviridov composed a cycle of lyricalromancesbased on the poetry ofAlexander Pushkinwhich brought him first critical acclaim. During his studies in Leningrad Conservatory, 1936–1941, Sviridov experimented with different genres and different types of musical composition, such as his Piano Concerto No. 1 (1936–1939), Symphony No. 1 (1936–1937), and the Chamber Symphony for Strings (1940). Later Sviridov would turn to Russian musical heritage, including folk songs, for inspiration.

Among Sviridov's most popular orchestral pieces are the "Romance," "Waltz," and "Winter Road" from his suiteThe Blizzard,musical illustrations after Pushkin (1975), that were extracted from his score for theeponymous 1964 filmbased on the short story fromAlexander Pushkin'sThe Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin.A short segment from his score for the 1965 filmTime, Forward!(Время, вперёд!) was selected as the opening theme for the main evening TV news programVremya(Время, 'time') and became a staple of Soviet life.

Poetry always occupied an important place in Sviridov's music. He composed songs and romances to the lyrics ofMikhail Lermontov(1938, 1957),Alexander Blok(1941),William Shakespeare(1944–1960),Robert Burns(in Russian translation, 1955). Despite the popularity of Sviridov's instrumental works, both the composer himself and the music critics regarded vocal and choral music to be his main strengths.Oratorio Pathétique(1959) afterVladimir Mayakovskyhas been calleda masterful musical rendering of one of the most popular Russian revolution poets. Sviridov's prolific vocal chamber and vocal symphonic output includes the oratorioTo the memory of Sergei Yesenin(1956), Little CantataWooden Russia(1964) after Yesenin, CantataSongs of Kursk(1964),Spring Cantata(1972) afterNikolay Nekrasov,songs, romances, and cantatas afterFyodor Tyutchev,Sergei Yesenin,Alexander Blok,Boris Pasternak,Alexander Prokofyev,Robert Rozhdestvensky.He also wrote one opera,Twinkling Lights(1951).

While Sviridov's music remains obscure in theWest,it is widely known within Russia. According to his nephew Alexander Belonenko, who posthumously edited and published Sviridov's personal jottings:

[Sviridov's music] is perceived [in Russia] as a sort of natural, or to put it more precisely, co-natural phenomenon, an integral part of the Russian landscape... Not everyone watchingORTwill know the name of the composer to the music that accompanies the programVremya,which has become a symbol of our bustling times. To say nothing of the "Romance" from...The Snowstorm.Whenever I visit Moscow, I hear it played in subway tunnels. In the words ofAlexander Blok,it "sunk into the souls of the people".

The "Winter Road" movement that concludes the suite fromThe Snowstormwas allegedly plagiarized byTappi Iwaseand used as the theme for the popular video game seriesMetal Gear Solid.

Honors and awards

In 1946 Sviridov was awarded theStalin Prizefor his Piano Trio. TheLenin Prizeof 1960 was bestowed on the composer for hisOratorio Pathétique.Georgy Sviridov was awarded theUSSR State Prizein 1968 and 1980 and honored with the titlePeople's Artist of the USSR.He became aHero of Socialist Labor(1975) and was twice awarded theOrder of Lenin.

Asteroid4075 Sviridov,discovered by the Russian astronomerLyudmila Karachkinain 1982, was named in honor of Georgy Sviridov.

Death

Sviridov died of a heart attack at theMoscow Central Clinical Hospitalin the early morning hours of 6 January 1998.

Filmography

• Virgin Soil Upturned(1939)
• Rimsky-Korsakov(1952)
• The Great Warrior Skanderbeg(1953)
• Resurrection(1960)
• The Blizzard(1964)
• Time, Forward!(1965)
• Trust(1976)
• Red Bells II(1982)
• Happy Birthday(1998)

List of works

Orchestral

• Symphony for Strings(1940)
• Symphony No. 1 (1936–1937; previously lost, score rediscovered posthumously)
• Symphony No. 2 (1949; unfinished)
• Triptych,a small symphony for orchestra (1964)
• Snow Storm(also translated asThe Blizzard), musical illustrations after Pushkin for orchestra (1975)

Concertante

• Piano Concerto No. 1 (1936–1939)
• Piano Concerto No. 2 (1942)

Chamber

• Piano Trio (1945 - rev. 1955)
• Piano Quintet in B minor (1945)
• String Quartet No. 1 (1945–1946)
• String Quartet No. 2 (1947)
• Music for Chamber Orchestra (1964)

Solo piano

• Seven Small Pieces for piano (1934–1935)
• Seven Songs after Mikhail Lermontov (1938)
• Piano Sonata (1944)
• Two Partitas for piano (1946, revised 1957 and 1960)
• Children's Album,seventeen pieces for piano (1948, revised 1957)
• Ruy Blas,serenade (1952)
• Partita in E minor
• Partita in F minor

Choral

• The Decembrists,oratorio (1955)
• Poem to the Memory ofSergei Yesenin,oratorio for tenor, mixed chorus and orchestra (1956)
• Five Choruses to Lyrics by Russian Poets(1958)
• Oratorio Pathétiqueto words byMayakovskyfor bass, mezzo-soprano, mixed chorus and orchestra (1959)
• Song about Lenin ( "We Don't Believe" ) to words by Mayakovsky for bass, mixed chorus and orchestra (1960)
• Songs of Kursk,cantata after folk texts for mixed chorus and orchestra (1964)
• Wooden Russia,cantata to words by Yesenin for tenor, men's chorus and orchestra (1964)
• Sad Songs,small cantata to words by A. Blok for mezzo-soprano, female chorus and orchestra (1962–1965)
• It Is Snowing,small cantata to words byBoris Pasternakfor female chorus, boys'chorus and orchestra (1965)
• Five Songs about Russia,cantata to words byAlexander Blokfor soprano, mezzo-soprano, baritone, bass, mixed chorus and orchestra (1967)
• Sacred Love(for soprano), from the incidental music toTsar Fyodor IoannovichbyAleksey Tolstoy.(1969)
• Four Folk Songs for chorus and orchestra (1971)
• The Friendly Guest(also translated asThe Radiant Guest), cantata to words bySergei Yeseninfor solo voices, chorus and orchestra (1971–1976)
• Spring Cantatato words byNikolay Nekrasovfor mixed chorus and orchestra (1972)
• Concerto in Memory ofAlexander Yurlovfor unaccompanied mixed chorus (1973)
• The Birch of Life,cantata to words by A. Blok for mezzo-soprano and orchestra (1974)
• Three Miniatures for solo voices and mixed chorus (1972–1975)
• Three Pieces fromChildren's Albumfor mixed chorusa cappella(1975)
• Ode to Leninto words by R. Rozhdestvensky for narrator, chorus and large orchestra (1976)
• Hymns to the Motherlandfor chorus (1978)
• Pushkin's Garland(also known as "They beat the Dawn" ),choral concertoon verses byAlexander Pushkin(1979)
• Night Clouds,cantata to words by A. Blok for mixed chorus a cappella (1979)
• Ladoga,choral poem for chorus to words by A. Prokofiev (1980)
• Songs From Hard Times,choruses to words of A. Blok for chorus a cappella (1980–1981 and later)
• Hymns and Prayers,words from liturgical poetry, for unaccompanied choir (1980–1997)

Opera

• Bright Lights,operetta in three acts after L. Sacharov and S. Poloski (1951)

Miscellaneous music

• "Othello", incidental music after Shakespeare (1942)
• Original soundtrack toThe Blizzard (1964)film after Alexander Pushkin's story
• "Time, Forward!",suite of the film score (1967)
• Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich,incidental music to the play by Aleksey Tolstoy (1973)

Songs

• Six Romances on Texts by Pushkin for voice and piano (1935)
• Three Songs to words by Alexander Blok (1941)
• "Shakespeare Suite" for singer and piano (1944)
• "Country of My Fathers", song cycle after A. Isaakian for tenor and bass with piano accompaniment (1949–1950)
• "Songs to Words of Robert Burns" for bass and piano (1955)
• "My Father is a Farmer", song cycle to words by Yesenin for tenor and baritone (1957)
• "Suburb-Lyrics", seven songs after A. Prokofiev and M. Issakovsky for singer and piano (1938–1958)
• Eight Romances to words by Lermontov for bass and piano (1957–1958)
• "St Petersburg Songs" for soprano, mezzo-soprano, baritone, bass, violin, cello and piano (1961–1963)
• "Petersburg Songs" to words of A. Blok for bass and piano (1961–1963)
• "Russia Cast Adrift", better "Russia Now Launched", song cycle to words by Yesenin for tenor and piano (1977)
• Two Songs to words of Alexander Pushkin (1975–1980)
• Nine Songs to Words of A. Blok (1972–1981)
• Twenty-five Songs for bass and piano (1955–1981)
• "Petersburg", song cycle to words by A. Blok (1963–1995)

References

Sources

• Sviridov, Georgy (2002). Belonenko, Alexander (ed.).Музыка как судьба[Music as Destiny] (in Russian). Moscow: Молодая гвардия [Young Guard].ISBN5-235-02440-0.

External links

• Georgy Vasilievich SviridovPetersburg Musical Archive
• Georgy Sviridov- Classical Archives
• "Georgy Vasilievich Sviridov"Георгий Васильевич Свиридов(in Russian).Retrieved2014-11-02.

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