Tikhon Nikolayevich Khrennikov

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Tikhon Nikolayevich Khrennikov in the Bolshoi Theater , 2003

Tikhon Nikolayevich Khrennikov ( Russian Тихон Николаевич Хренников ; . Scientific transliteration Tikhon Nikolaevič Chrennikov ; born May 28 . Jul / 10. June  1913 greg. In Yelets , Oryol Governorate , Russian Empire , now Lipetsk , Russia ; †  14. August 2007 in Moscow ) was a Russian composer .

Life

Chrennikow made the decision to become a composer at an early age and began to study composition and piano at the Gnessin Institute in Moscow in 1929 . In 1932 he moved to the Moscow Conservatory , where he completed his studies with Vissarion Schebalin in 1936 with his first symphony as a diploma thesis. In 1941 he accepted a position as the music department administrator of the Central Theater of the Soviet Army, which he held until 1954.

The decisive year for his career was 1948, when he was promoted to General Secretary of the Composers' Union of the Soviet Union as a result of the decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU , in which alleged "formalists" such as Shostakovich and Prokofiev were sharply criticized . He held this post de facto until 1992, but has shared it with Edisson Denisow since 1991 . In this function, Khrennikov was always keen to stay close to the government; he represented musically conservative positions and agitated against composers who allowed more modern tendencies to flow into their works, such as Shostakovich at first and later, for example, Schnittke . After the fall of the Wall, Khrennikov sometimes portrayed himself as a victim of the regime.

From 1961 Khrennikov taught composition at the Moscow Conservatory , in 1966 he became a professor. Chrennikov, who was said to have had various connections (including to the secret service), received many awards. He became People's Artist of the RSFSR (1954), People's Artist of the USSR (1963), Hero of Socialist Labor (1973), three times winner of the Stalin Prize (1942, 1946, 1951) and four times winner of the Order of Lenin (1963, 1971, 1973, 1983), and winner of the Lenin Prize (1974). In 2003 he was awarded the UNESCO Mozart Medal . In 1970 he was admitted to the German Academy of the Arts in Berlin (East). In addition to his work as a composer and functionary, Chrennikow also emerged as a pianist of his own works.

Audio language

Chrennikow quickly developed his own style that does not deny ties to tradition. At all times the aesthetic positions of Socialist Realism represented the foundation of his compositions. Chrennikov's music is particularly characterized by strongly forced pathos, vitality and rhythmic driving force. He saw the melody as the dominant element of music in general. His ability to invent catchy melodies, often trained on Russian folk songs, is particularly evident in his numerous songs, film and stage music. A special feature of its harmony and melody is the frequent use of whole-tone steps. The tonality he never questioned. Even in a comparatively advanced work such as the Third Symphony, in which twelve-tone rows are used (admittedly exclusively melodic and not in the sense of twelve-tone technique ), the tone language remains clearly conservative. Particularly with regard to the orchestral works, its colorful, powerful instrumentation should be emphasized.

All in all, Khrennikov composed fairly consistently; no major stylistic changes can be found in his oeuvre. From the 1970s onwards he dealt with tradition a little more freely and used a slightly higher degree of dissonance than before. However, even after the fall of the Soviet Union, Chrennikov remained true to his old stylistic ideals; Works like his ballet Napoléon Bonaparte hardly differ from previous compositions. His music is said to have been influenced by Shostakovich and especially Prokofiev. In fact, similarities to the tonal language of these composers can be demonstrated; An overall view of his work shows, however, that his tonal language is fundamentally eclectic , on the other hand, his works have certain stylistic constants that clearly identify them as compositions by Khrennikov.

Chrennikov was considered one of the most important composers in his country during the Soviet era. In the West, however, people mostly took the opposite position and denied him any compositional talent. The reason for this strong discrepancy lies not least in Khrennikov's political commitment and his functionary work. Currently (2007), the reception of his music does not seem to be separable from ideological positions.

Others

In his novel The Noise of Time , the British writer Julian Barnes addresses the influence that Khrennikov's functionary work had on Shostakovich's life.

Works

  • Orchestral works
    • Symphony No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 4 (1933–1935)
    • Symphony No. 2 in C minor, op.9 (1940–1942, rev. 1944)
    • Symphony No. 3 in A major, Op. 22 (1973)
    • Stage music
    • Film music
  • Concerts
    • Piano Concerto No.1 in F major op.1 (1932/33)
    • Piano Concerto No.2 in C major op.21 (1971)
    • Piano Concerto No.3 in C major op.28 (1983)
    • Piano Concerto No. 4 op.37 for piano, string orchestra and percussion (1991)
    • Violin Concerto No. 1 in C major op.14 (1958/59)
    • Violin Concerto No.2 in C major op.23 (1975)
    • Violoncello Concerto No. 1 in C major op.16 (1964)
    • Violoncello Concerto No. 2 op.30 (1986)
  • Ballets
    • "Our Court" op.19 (1969/70)
    • "Love for love" op.24 (1976)
    • "Hussar Ballad" op.25 (1978)
    • "Napoléon Bonaparte" op.40 (1994)
    • "The Captain's Daughter" op.41 (1999)
  • Operas
    • "Im Sturm" op.8 (1936–1939, rev. 1952)
    • "Frol Skobejew" op.12 (1945–1950, rev. 1966)
    • "The Mother" op.13 (1952–1957)
    • "100 devils and a girl" op.15 (1962/63)
    • "The Giant Boy" op.18 (1968/69)
    • "Much Ado About Hearts" (1972/73)
    • "Dorothea" op.27 (1982/83)
    • "The golden calf" op.29 (1984/85)
    • "The Naked King" op.31 (1988)
    • "At 6 o'clock in the evening after the war" (2003)
  • Other vocal works
    • Three Poemes after Nekrasov for a cappella choir op.20 (1971)
    • Three Poemes after Nekrassow for a cappella choir op.36 (1990)
    • Songs
    • Mass songs
  • Chamber music
    • Three pieces for violin and piano op.26 (1978, orch. 1983)
    • String Quartet op.33 (1988)
    • Violoncello Sonata op.34 (1989)
    • 5 pieces for woodwind op.35 (1990)
    • Piano pieces

literature

  • Tikhon Khrennikov . Hans Sikorski, Hamburg 1985.
  • Olga Lewtonowa: Simfonii i Konzerti TN Chrennikowa . Sovetsky composer, Moscow 1974.
  • Lev Grigoryev, Jakow Platek: Khrennikov . Paganiniana Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey 1983, ISBN 0-87666-797-3 .

Web links

Commons : Tikhon Khrennikov  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biography of Tikhon Chrennikow on the page WarHeroes. Retrieved September 19, 2018 (Russian).
  2. ^ Julian Barnes : The Noise of Time. Vintage, London 2017, ISBN 978-1-78470-333-2 .
personal data
SURNAME Chrennikow, Tikhon Nikolajewitsch
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Хренников, Тихон Николаевич (Russian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Russian composer
DATE OF BIRTH June 10, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Jelez
DATE OF DEATH August 14, 2007
Place of death Moscow