Maximilian Ossejewitsch Steinberg

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Maximilian Ossejewitsch Steinberg, 1915

Maximilian Ossejewitsch Steinberg ( Russian Максимилиан Осеевич Штейнберг ; born June 22 . Jul / 4. July  1883 greg. In Vilnius , † 6. December 1946 in Leningrad ) was a Russian composer .

resume

Steinberg, the son of a Hebraist , spent his youth in Vilnius and moved to St. Petersburg in 1901 to study natural sciences. At the same time, his great interest in music prompted him to begin studying music at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with such well-known personalities as Anatoly Lyadow , Alexander Glasunow and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov . His great compositional talent soon became apparent, which was largely shaped by his mentor Rimsky-Korsakov. Steinberg graduated in natural sciences in 1907 and in music in 1908. In the same year he married Rimsky-Korsakov's daughter Nadezhda and initially became a teacher himself, from 1915 professor of composition and instrumentation at the Petersburg Conservatory. He took on numerous positions at the Conservatory, including deputy director from 1934 to 1939, before retiring in 1946. Steinberg played an important role in Soviet musical life as a teacher of composers like Dmitri Shostakovich and Juri Shaporin .

style

Steinberg was initially regarded as the great hope of Russian music and was at times even rated higher than his fellow student Igor Stravinsky . In contrast to this, however, he remained strictly opposed to musical innovations. Rather, his compositions show a very clear reference to his teachers Glasunow and Rimsky-Korsakov and stylistically they can easily be assigned to the Russian national romanticism in the succession of the Mighty Heap . Above all, the compositional technique is handled very confidently; Steinberg had brilliant orchestration. Many of his works fall back on subjects from world literature. The proclamation of Socialist Realism in 1932 did not mean a major change for him, as his style basically conformed to the demands. He put the main focus of his work on national issues and let folklore flow into his work even more than before. Today Steinberg is hardly known as a composer, which is due to the fact that his compositions are stylistically little independent; he was even called an eclectic . As a teacher, however, he is of greater importance in music history.

Works

  • Orchestral works
    • Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 3 (1905/06)
    • Symphony No. 2 in B flat minor, op. 8 “In memory of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov” (1909)
    • Symphony No. 3 in G minor, Op. 18 (1928)
    • Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 24 "Turksib" (1933)
    • Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 31 "Symphony Rhapsody on Uzbek Themes" (1942)
    • Variations for large orchestra in G major op.2 (1905)
    • Symphonic prelude in memory of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov op.7 (1908)
    • Dramatic Fantasy op.9 (1910)
    • Solemn overture to revolutionary songs from 1905–1907 and 1917 op. 21 (1930)
    • "In Armenia", Poem-Capriccio op. 28 (1940)
    • "Ilgari (Forward)", Uzbek heroic overture op. 34 (1943)
    • Violin Concerto in C minor op.37 (1946)
  • Stage works
    • Metamorphoses , musical-mimic triptych (ballet) after Ovid op. 10 (1912/13); three images: 1. Semele, 2. Midas, 3. Adonis; from this suite in 5 movements, also marked as op.10 (1913)
    • Till Eulenspiegel , Ballet op.25 (1934/35)
    • Stage music
  • Vocal music
    • " Russalka (Die Wassernixe)", music for the poem by Michail Lermontow (cantata) for soprano, female choir and orchestra op. 4 (1907)
    • "Heaven and Earth", Opera Mystery / Dramatic Poem after Byron for six voices and orchestra op. 12 (1916)
    • Four songs for voice and orchestra after Tagore op.14 (1924)
    • "Cantata in memory of Pushkin (on the 100th anniversary of his death)" after Roshdestvensky for soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra op. 26 (1937)
    • "The Passion Week" based on old church chants for choir op. 13 (1920-23)
    • Songs (including 24 folk songs for low voice and orchestra in four cycles of six songs each op.19 (1930), op.22 (1930/31), op.23 (1930/31) and op.27 (1938))
  • Chamber music
    • String Quartet No. 1 in A major op.5 (1907)
    • String Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op. 16 (1925)
    • Four Uzbek songs for violoncello and piano op.36 (based on the song cycle op.33 (?), 1942/43; edited 1944?)

Discography

The classic label Deutsche Grammophon released two CDs with Steinberg's works available: 2nd Symphony + Variations op. 2 and 1st Symphony (both Gothenburg Symphony under Neeme Järvi ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Symphony No. 2; Variations at Allmusic (English)
personal data
SURNAME Steinberg, Maximilian Ossejewitsch
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Штейнберг, Максимилиан Осеевич
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Russian composer
DATE OF BIRTH 4th July 1883
PLACE OF BIRTH Vilnius , Lithuania
DATE OF DEATH December 6, 1946
Place of death Leningrad