German Grigoryevich Okunew
German Grigorjewitsch Okunew ( Russian Герман Григорьевич Окунев , scientific transliteration German Grigor'evič Okunev ; born June 14, 1931 in Leningrad , Soviet Union ; † June 13, 1973 ibid) was a Russian composer , pianist and pedagogue .
As a schoolboy he took part in numerous concerts for soldiers during the Leningrad blockade , for which he received an award in 1944. In 1947 he was admitted to the pre-school to the Leningrad Conservatory . There he later studied piano with Abram Logowinski and composition with Boris Kljusner and Orest Jewlachow until graduation in 1956. For the next few years he worked in Frunze , where he dealt with Kyrgyz folk music in a number of works . In 1961 he returned to Leningrad and, together with colleagues like Boris Tishchenko, completed an apprenticeship with Dmitri Shostakovich , who continued to support him. From 1964 he taught himself as a teacher at the conservatory. His 1st Symphony (1962–1964) relates, similar to Shostakovich's 7th Symphony , to the siege of Leningrad. The premiere did not take place at first because the composer was friends with the rebellious painter Mikhail Shemjakin. The premiere of the work, which was not implemented until 1966 at the instigation of Shostakovich, was a success, and Okunew was awarded his own composition class at the Conservatory. But this was withdrawn from him in 1968 - due to his contacts with dissident circles. The 2nd symphony (1970), premiered in Leningrad in 1972, is considered to be his main work. In 1973 he died of the consequences of a tragic traffic accident.
He composed a ballet, two symphonies, concertos for piano and oboe, orchestral suites, chamber music, piano works, songs and music for children. Another, final, incomplete ballet after Nikolai Gogol's The Mantle was completed and orchestrated by his composition student Vladimir Saposhnikov. Okunev's works were soon forgotten after his death. There are only a few, isolated recordings.
literature
- Boris Yoffe : In the flow of the symphonic . Wolke, Hofheim 2014, ISBN 978-3-95593-059-2 , pp. 506 f .
- Sergei Sigitov: German Okunev. Liki Tvorchestva i Vremeni . Saint Petersburg 2006, ISBN 5-88718-054-4 .
- Sofia Michailovna Khentova: V mire Shostakovicha . Kompozitor, Moscow 1996, ISBN 5-85285-073-X , p. 177 f .
Web links
- Website of the composer ( Memento from March 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) with biography, catalog raisonné and literature (Russian)
- Works by German Okunev in the WorldCat bibliographic database
- Information on German Okunev in the database of the Bibliothèque nationale de France , accessed on May 31, 2018.
- Ballet "Шинель" ("The Coat") based on Gogol - Melodiya LP 1977 on YouTube , March 24, 2018, accessed on May 31, 2018.
- Sheet music editions
Remarks
- ↑ The dates of birth and death are based on the Russian sources. There are different information in English sources. The asteroid (10990) Okunev mentioned there is also named after the scientist Boris Okunev , not after the composer German Okunew.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d biography at dic.academic.ru
- ↑ Laurel E. Fay: Shostakovich: A Life . Oxford University Press, New York 2005, ISBN 978-0-19-513438-4 , pp. 226 .
- ↑ Information on the composer's website ( Memento from January 23, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Boris Yoffe : In the flow of the symphonic . Wolke, Hofheim 2014, ISBN 978-3-95593-059-2 , pp. 507 .
- ↑ Information on harmonia.tomsk
- ↑ biography on walkeru.narod
- ↑ German Okunev at Discogs (English)
- ↑ album at BIS Records with Christian Lindberg 1991
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Okunew, German Grigoryevich |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ге́рман Григо́рьевич О́кунев (Russian) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Russian composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 14, 1931 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Leningrad |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 13, 1973 |
| Place of death | Leningrad |