Alexei Vladimirovich Abutkov

Alexei Vladimirovich Abutkow (he himself used in Argentina named Alejo Vladimir Abutcov , Russian Алексей Владимирович Абутков ; baptized on February 28 ^jul. / 12. March  1875 ^greg. In Tschebotajewka, Ujesd Buinsk, Russian Empire , now Oblast Ulyanov , Russia ; † August 25, 1945 in General, Alvear, Mendoza Province , Argentina ) was a Russian composer and music teacher . As a pioneer of music teaching in Argentina, he founded a music conservatory in the city of General Alvear in the province of Mendoza in 1928, after having founded a people's conservatory in Simbirsk in 1918. He was a Tolstoyan .

Life

Period in Russia, 1875 to 1920

Abutkov's family of nobles and landowners. His parents were the Real Councilor of State Vladimir Nikolayevich Abutkov and his wife Alexandra Alexeyevna Abutkov. In addition to the major Geral Nikolai Wladimirowitsch Abutkow (1873-1920), chief of staff of the White Movement , he had three other brothers: Pavel, Vsevolod and Evgeny. As a noble family, they owned extensive estates. From his own memory, Alexei received her first piano lessons at the age of seven. Between 1884 and 1892 he attended high school in Simbirsk. In 1893 he enrolled in the Law Faculty of Moscow University . In Moscow he took lessons from Paul Pabst . In 1896 he finished his studies. First he went back to Simbirsk and began his civil service career. In 1897 he accepted a position as Secretary of the Government (Class XII) in Saint Petersburg. He took part in the Russo-Japanese War and was awarded the Russian Order of St. Anne, Third Class, in 1908 . In 1914 he was appointed councilor (class VI). In addition to his job, he studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory from 1899 to 1907 . Among his teachers were Nikolai Feopemptowitsch Solowjow , Alexander Glasunow , Nikolai Rimski-Korsakow , Liberi Antonowitsch Sakketti (1852-1916) and Anatoli Liadow . He met Leo Tolstoy and was friends with him. He lived in Germany for a short time and studied instrumentation with Engelbert Humperdinck . After graduating as Свободный_художник [freelance artist] at the Conservatory, he taught piano, harmony and counterpoint at the music school of the court orchestra in Saint Petersburg until 1913. Other lecturers were Rimsky-Korsakov, Sergei Mikhailovich Lyapunov , Liadov and Mili Balakirew . During this time he wrote Руководство к изучению контрапункта, канона и фуги [A Guide to the Study of Counterpoint, Canon and Fugue] for his students and several choral works.Arbutkov later also perfectly specialized in Esperanto and in Ido . He is said to have been offered a chair in Esperanto, which he refused. After the October Revolution he returned to Simbirsk. Here he founded a people 's conservatory in 1918 and becomes its director. According to some sources, he was arrested in November 1919 for anti-Soviet activities and others not until January 1920. According to his own recollections, the charges were his proximity to the Tolstoians and that his brother, Geral major Nikolai Vladimirovich Abutkov, was a senior officer in the White Movement. Vladimir Grigoryevich Chertkow helped him escape from prison.

Exile, time in Argentina

In July 1922 Abutkov stayed in Varna . Here he was a member of the Bulgarian Association of Professional Musicians. After a stay in France, he traveled to South America with a musical ensemble. In March 1923 he came to Buenos Aires . He has given concerts with a Russian opera company as a conductor in Uruguay and Chile . In Buenos Aires he taught at various music institutes such as the Conservatorio Rossini and Filarmónica Zaslawsky and gave private music lessons. He worked as a pianist in cafes and restaurants in the city. In September 1924 he bought a property in San Pedro del Atuel in what is now the Department of General Alvear (Mendoza) . He wanted to build a Tolstoian colony to spread the philosophical teachings of Lev Tolstoy, such as calm, asceticism and vegetarianism, which he did not succeed. He built a house, tilled the land, raised bees, and taught math and music to the local children. Between 1925 and 1926 he published several articles in anarchist newspapers in Buenos Aires. In 1928 he founded the Conservatorio "Schubert" in the city of General Alvear, the first music conservatory in the south of Mendoza. He was the only teacher who trained more than 160 students. He has taught piano, harmonium, violin, viola, cello, guitar, mandolin, bandoneon, accordion, trombone, singing, music theory, music history and composition. The curricula corresponded to those of the European conservatories. It was affiliated to the Santa Cecilia Music Institute in Buenos Aires, so that the students received official graduation certificates. Every year he held concerts with his students. He was a supporter of the anti-fascist SIA Solidaridad Internacional Antifascista founded in Spain in 1937 and tried to form a local group. Juan Bautista Bairoletto (1894–1941), known as the Argentine or Creole Robin Hood, found shelter on Abutkov's finca . On August 25, 1945 Abutkow died in General Alvear on a uremia . Since he had no successor to work at the Conservatory, his existence ended without replacement with Abutkov's death.

Abutkow was married to Natalia Rykova . He was already widowed when he emigrated . Both had a son together. In 1996 he was rehabilitated by the Russian authorities.

Works (selection)

Abutkow wrote about 400 compositions, 327 of which have an opus number . Only about 10% of them have been rediscovered so far.

Works with opus number

• Songs without Words op. 1, I Romance II Barcarole III Study (lost) IV L'Adieu [The Farewell]
• Songs for voice and piano op. 2, I Мой маленький друг [My little friend] II Придешли с новою весной [Come with the new spring] III Свежесть утра [ Morning freshness]
• Five songs op.3
• Andante for violoncello and piano op.4
• Three Piano Pieces, Op. 5 I Etude II Nocturne III Scherzo
• Trio for piano, violin and violoncello op.6
• Songs for voice and piano op.7
• Compositions for mixed choir op. 8 I Ти печална [You are sad] II Весенния воды [spring water] (lost) III Звездна полунощ [midnight star ]. Text: Boris Pawlowitsch Nikonow. I and III recorded by the Coro de Egresados ​​Martín Zapata under the direction of Diego Bosquets.
• Tristesse et joie (obertura de concierto para orquesta sinfónica) [sadness and joy, concert overture for symphony orchestra] op. 9
• Piano pieces op. 10, I Petite valse [Little Waltz] II Scherzino III Prelude
• 10 songs op.12 Text: Alexei Wassiljewitsch Kolzow
• Eight folk songs op.13
• Великое дело [Great Deed] op. 14, 4 versions. 1. mixed choir with piano accompaniment 2. four-part male choir a capella 3. three-part female choir with piano accompaniment 4. three-part children's choir with piano accompaniment
• February 19, Op. 15, 3 versions. 1. mixed choir with piano accompaniment 2. four-part male a cappella choir 3. three-part children's choir with piano accompaniment
• Latvian song for male choir with piano or organ accompaniment op.16
• Allegro de concert for piano op.17
• Piano pieces op.18, I March II Waltz III Polish. III also as an orchestral version
• Память вечная вам, братья! [Eternal memory of you brothers] op. 19, 1912 Two versions: 1. Mixed choir and strings, 2. Mixed choir and piano Memories of the Patriotic War of 1812
• Three songs for male voices with piano accompaniment op.23
• Two three-part canons op.28
• Грези о минувшьем [Dreams of the Past] for piano op. 29
• Danse russe composée sur les motifs populaires [Russian dance composed according to popular motifs] op. 172
• Duo for two violins with piano accompaniment op.326
• Elegie for piano op.327, published in Buenos Aires 1938

Works without opus number

• Piano trio
• Rai i Peri [Paradise and Peri], cantata for four-part mixed choir, four soloists and piano, recorded by Coro de Egresados ​​Martín Zapata under the direction of Diego Bosquets.
• Под музику for voice and piano (lost)
• Свежеватая утра, роз дижане for voice and piano
• Тихо все [rest everything] for male choir
• сказка [fairy tale] for piano
• молитва [prayer] for piano
• Romanza for violencello (lost)
• Scottish song for violin and piano (lost)
• Barcarole for two violins (lost)
• Danza rústica eslava for two violins (lost)
• Music Day (November 22nd), festival marsh for piano
• Memories of the Patriotic War of 1812, suite for string orchestra, 1912

Theoretical works

• Руководство к изучению контрапункта, канона и фуги [A Guide to the Study of Counterpoint, Canon and Fugue], 1912

As a manuscript:

• Manual de armonía [Manual on harmony]
• Tratado de estética [treatise on aesthetics]
• Enciclopedia Musical
• Historia musical

Reception and rediscovery

In 2005, Abutkov's empty house in Carmenco was examined. In addition to newspaper clippings and files, various sheet music was found. The Argentine musicologist Diego Bosquet from the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo is dedicated to researching the life and work of Abutkov. The Russian musicologist Galina Michailowna Malinina is also involved in Arbutkin research. Abel Cassanelli and Diego Bosquet produced the documentary Abutcov about the life, work and rediscovery of Abutkov. Bosquet organized concerts, including with the Coro de Egresados ​​Martín Zapata, to present the works of Abutkov to the public. Bosquet's work is supported by the Dirección de Patrimonio Cultural de la Provincia Mendoza and the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo . The exhibition Alejo Abutcov: de San Petersburgo a San Pedro del Atuel [From Saint Peterburg to San Pedro del Atuel] complemented a series of concerts with works by the composer .

Recordings

• Alejo Abutcov: Obras corales . Coro de Egresados Martín Zapata. Direction: Diego Bosquets. The CD contains the following works: Rai i Peri , op.8 nos. 1 and 3, op.14, op.15 and op.19

literature

• Diego Bosquet: De San Peterburgo a San Pedro del Atuel [From Saint Peterburg to San Pedro del Atuel], Huellas. Busquedas en artes y diseño No. 8, 2014 (Spanish) ISSN No. 1666–8197
• Anna Schkolnaja: Толстовец и композитор От Симбирска до Аргентины [Tolstoyan and composer: From Simbirsk to Argentina]. Газета Симбирский курьер [Simbirsk Courier], April 7, 2012 (Russian)
• Lilia Januschewskaja: СимбирскийаргентинецАлехо Абутков [Simbirsk Argentinian Alecho Abutkow], Monomax, 2–2012, pp. 34–37 (Russian)
• Carlos Campana: Don Alejo: el ruso de Carmensa [Don Alejo: the Russian from Carmensa]. Los Andes, January 10, 2016 (Spanish)

Web links

• Alexei (Alejo) Vladimirovich Abutkov at kapellanin.ru . Biographical article with photo of Anna Tveritinova from June 25, 2013. (Russian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Continúa el ciclo homenaje a Alejo Abutcov . In: MDZ Diario de Mendoza . Mendoza October 10, 2008 (Spanish, mdzol.com ). Continúa el ciclo homenaje a Alejo Abutcov ( Memento of the original from February 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Anna Schkolnaja: Толстовец и композитор От Симбирска до Аргентины . In: Газета Симбирский курьер . Simbirsk April 7, 2012 (Russian).
3. ↑ Lilija Januschewskaja: Симбирский аргентинец Алехо Абутков . In: Monamax . February 2012, p. 34-37 (Russian).
4. ^ Carlos Campana: Don Alejo: el ruso de Carmensa . In: Los Andes . Mendoza January 10, 2016 (Spanish, com.ar ).