Alexander Abramovich Kerin

Alexander Abramovich Kerin ( Russian Александр Абрамович Крейн * 8 ^{. Jul} / 20th October  1883 ^greg. In Nizhny Novgorod , † 21st April 1951 in Staraya Russa ) was a Russian composer of Jewish descent.

family

His father Abram, who came to Russia from Lithuania in 1870 , was a well-known violinist and exponent of popular Jewish klezmer music. All of his seven sons received their first musical training from him and became musicians; Alexander and Grigori made a name for themselves as composers, David achieved a high reputation as a violinist. Of the three composers from the family, Alexander, his brother Grigori and his son Julian, Alexander presented the most extensive work. Today it has almost completely disappeared from the schedule.

Education and life path

As early as 1896, at the age of 14, Alexander Kerin attended the Moscow Conservatory , where he studied cello with Alfred von Glehn and composition with Sergei Taneyev and Boleslaw Jaworski . His first works were published by Jürgenson in 1901. In the years before the Russian Revolution he was a member of the People's Conservatory in Moscow, founded in 1905. In 1917 he became director of the artistic branch of Narkompros , the music section of the newly founded People's Commissariat for Education. In the 1920s, Kerin was viewed as the leader of a Jewish national school in Russia that mainly included his brother Grigori and his nephew Julian. After the establishment of the Soviet Union , Krein held a number of official posts in the state art business. He died on April 21, 1951 in Staraya Russa .

style

Kerin integrated both secular and sacred elements of Jewish music into a relatively modern musical language that was influenced by French impressionism as well as the music of his friend Alexander Nikolaevich Scriabin . Krein's own Jewish heritage was a constant source of inspiration; the titles of a number of instrumental works bear witness to this, such as Caprice Hebraique , Op. 24, and Esquisses Hébraïques for clarinet and string quartet. In 1921 he composed a kaddish for tenor, choir and orchestra. From the mid-twenties onwards he also frequently wrote theatrical music for pieces by the Moscow Jewish Theater. In addition, there is a series of works that are either strictly classical in their design or of a Soviet nature in general . This last category includes pieces such as his opera Zagmuk (1930), Lament in Memory of Lenin (1925) and the ironically titled play USSR, shock brigade of the world proletariat of (1925).

Selection of works

• Prologue, op.2a, for viola and piano (1902–1911 / 1927)
• Five Preludes, op. 3, for piano (1903–1906)
• Poème Quator, op.9, for string quartet (1909)
• Jewish Sketches, op.12, for clarinet and string quartet (1909, new edition 2008 in Edition Silvertrust)
• Elegy, op.16, for violin, cello and piano (1913)
• 3 Songs from the Ghetto, op. 23, for soprano and piano: Be me little sister (1916), Where are you? (1917), A tear (1915-16)
• Caprice Hebraique, Op. 24
• The Rose and the Cross, Symphonic Fragments, op.26 (1917)
• Kaddisch, op. 33, symphonic cantata for tenor, mixed choir and large orchestra (1921–1922)
• Symphony No. 1 op. 35, for large orchestra (1922–1925)
• Piano Sonata (1925)
• 2 Hebrew Songs, op.39, for voice and piano (1926)
• Mourning Ode, op. 40, for large orchestra (1925–1926)
• Aria, op. 41, for violin and piano (1927)
• Ornaments, op.42, 3 songs without words for voice and piano (1924/1927)
• Jewish Melody, op.43, for cello and piano (1928)
• Zagmuk, opera (1929–1930)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jonathan Powell. 2003. Booklet accompanying the CD Songs from the Ghetto ASV / Sancturay Classics DCA1154.

Web links

• Works by Alexander Abramowitsch Kerin in the catalog of the German National Library
• Alexander Kerin 3 Sketches on Hebrew Themes for Clarinet Quintet, Op.12 Soundbites and discussion