Nikolai Petrovich Rakov

Nikolai Petrovich Rakow ( russian . Николай Петрович Раков, scientific transliteration Nikolai Petrovich Rakov * 1. ^jul. / 14. March  1908 ^greg. In Kaluga , † 3. November 1990 in Moscow ) was a Russian composer .

Life

Rakow first studied violin at the Rubinstein Music School and composition at the Moscow Conservatory with Reinhold Glière and Sergei Wassilenko . After completing his studies in 1931, he became Glière's assistant at the Moscow Conservatory the following year, before becoming a teacher himself in 1935 and finally professor of instrumentation at the same place in 1943. He also gave concerts as a violinist and conductor. He also wrote several books on instrumentation. His students include Edisson Denisov , Boris Tschaikowski as well as Nikolai Peiko , Andrei Eschpai and Alfred Schnittke . In 1946 Rakow received the Stalin Prize for his first violin concerto , in 1975 he was awarded the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR , and in 1989 he was awarded the title of People 's Artist of the USSR .

style

Rakov was an extremely traditional composer; stylistically, many of his works go little beyond Alexander Glasunow and Reinhold Glière. Unrestricted tonality , late romantic harmony and flowing melodies are hallmarks of his works. The national idiom always plays a very important role. In later works Rakow showed some interest in neoclassicism . He was able to compose very well suited to the instruments and with good sound. He paid special attention to music for children and wrote numerous piano pieces for educational use, but also instructive chamber music . These works were very popular in the Soviet Union. Rakow's best-known work is probably his first violin concerto, which was disseminated by David Oistrach .

Works

• Orchestral works
  • Symphony No. 1 in D major (1940, rev. 1958)
  • Symphony No. 2 in F major "Youth Symphony" (1957)
  • Symphony No. 3 in C major "Little Symphony" for string orchestra (1962)
  • Symphony No. 4 (1973)
  • Sinfonietta for string orchestra in G minor (1958)
  • " Mari Suite" (1931)
  • "Russian Overture" (1947)
  • "Concert Suite" (1949)
  • 4 concertos for piano and string orchestra (1969, 1969, 1973, 1977)
  • Violin Concerto No. 1 in E minor (1944)
  • Violin Concerto No. 2 in A minor (1954–63)
  • Concertino for violin and string orchestra in D minor (1960)
  • Concert Fantasy for Clarinet and Orchestra in G minor (1968)
• Chamber music
  • Violin Sonatas (1951, 1974)
  • Sonatinas for violin and piano
  • Nine pieces for violoncello and piano (1959)
  • 2 quartets for 4 cellos (1984, 1986)
  • 2 oboe sonatas (1951, 1978)
  • 2 clarinet sonatas (1956, 1975)
  • Sonatina for clarinet and piano (1963)
  • 3 sonatinas for harp and piano (1965, 1970, 1971)
  • Songs and romances
• Piano music
  • 4 sonatas (No. 1 1959, No. 2 1973)
  • Sonatinas (No. 1 in E minor, 1954, No. 4 in C minor, No. 16 in C major, 1980)
  • Variations in B minor (1949)
  • 5 Preludes (1936)
  • Watercolor , 9 pieces (1945)
  • 24 children's pieces in all keys (1961)
  • 20 concert studies (1929–74)
  • numerous smaller pieces

Web links

• Works by and about Nikolaj Petrovič Rakov in the catalog of the German National Library
• Catalog of works ( Memento of May 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
• Audio samples on the Internet: some piano pieces (including variations in B minor)