Vissarion Yakovlevich Schebalin

Vissarion Yakovlevich Schebalin ( russian . Виссарион Яковлевич Шебалин, scientific transliteration Vissarion Jakovlevic Šebalin ; born May 29 ^{. Jul} / 11. June  1902 ^greg. In Omsk ; † 28. May 1963 in Moscow ) was a Russian composer .

Life

Schebalin was the son of a teacher and, after taking composition lessons in his hometown, began studying composition with Nikolai Myaskovsky at the Moscow Conservatory in 1923 . Immediately after completing his studies in 1928, he became a teacher at this institute, and in 1935 professor of composition. From 1942 on he was director of the conservatory. But in 1948, as part of the decision of the Central Committee of the CPSU, he was publicly criticized along with other well-known composers as a "formalist" and as a result removed from his offices, although he himself took part in accusing other composers of formalism. Until 1951 he therefore gave conducting lessons at the Institute for Military Music. In 1951, however, he was allowed to resume his professorship at the Moscow Conservatory. In 1953, Schebalin suffered a stroke that paralyzed his writing hand. Although he had to write with his left hand from then on, his productivity remained unbroken. Schebalin had been close friends with Dmitri Shostakovich since the 1920s and maintained a lively correspondence with him. His numerous students include Tikhon Khrennikov , Karen Chatschaturjan , Alexandra Pachmutowa , Veljo Tormis , Sofia Gubaidulina , Arno Babadschanjan , Boris Tchaikovsky and Edisson Denisov . In addition to the “People's Artist of the Russian Federation” award, Schebalin received the Stalin Prize twice . The Omsk Music University and a children's music school in Moscow were named after him.

style

Despite his lifelong friendship with Shostakovich, Schebalin's style has surprisingly little in common with that of his friend. Rather, his tonal language shows the influence of his teacher Myaskovsky, who was a kind of model for Schebalin artistically and personally. This is expressed only in the fact that he dedicated his first and last symphonies to his teacher or his memory. Typical for both composers is a more academic approach to music, which manifests itself in a sovereign mastery of the craft of composition. It is noticeable that Schebalin's subjects are often not very concise; the focus is clearly on their development and design. A distinctive chromaticism is characteristic of the melody . Therefore, his music is sometimes not immediately accessible to the listener. However, despite the emphasis on the musical substance, he did not avoid the "wink in front of the audience" as consistently as Mjaskowski, which is why his music is more effective. In comparison, the instrumentation in particular is more colorful with more percussion and more pronounced motor skills, which, however, are by no means as dominant as in Shostakovich. Schebalin's harmony is often quite sharp and rich in dissonance , especially in the works of the 1930s and 1940s . The basis here is the harmony of Mjaskowski's second creative period. Like him, however, Schebalin consistently avoids atonality . The above-mentioned “decision” also meant a turning point for him, although he was not prepared to distance himself completely from his earlier work. He let folk music flow into his work to a greater extent and defused his harmony. In his last works, Schebalin approached the later works of Myaskovsky.

Works

Orchestral works

• Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 6 (1925)
• Symphony No. 2 in C sharp minor op.11 (1929)
• Symphony No. 3 in C major, op.17 (1934/35)
• Symphony No. 4 in B flat major op. 24 "The Heroes of Perekop " (1935, rev. 1961)
• Symphony No. 5 in C major, Op. 56 (1962)
• " Lenin ", Dramatic Symphony op. 16 after Mayakovsky for narrator, soloists, choir and orchestra (1931, rev. 1959)
• Sinfonietta on Russian folk songs in A major op. 43 (1949–51)
• Suite No. 1 op.18 (1934/35)
• Suite No. 2 op.22 (1935, rev. 1961)
• Suite No. 3 op.61 (1963)
• Overtures
• Drama and film music

Concerts

• Violin Concerto in G major op. 21 (1936–40, rev. 1959)
• Concertino for violin and string orchestra op. 14/1 (1931/32, rev. 1958)
• Concertino for horn and string orchestra op. 14/2 (1929/30, rev. 1958)

Stage and vocal music

• "The sun over the steppe", opera op. 27 (1939–59)
• " The Taming of the Shrew ", opera op. 46 (1946–56)
• "The Lerche", ballet op. 37 (1943)
• "Blue May, Free Land", cantata op. 13 (1930)
• "Moscow", cantata op. 38 (1946)
• Songs and choirs

Chamber and piano music

• 9 string quartets (1923–63), including the 5th "Slavic Quartet" (1942)
• String trio op.4 (1924, rev. 1934)
• Piano trio in A major op.39 (1946/47)
• Violin Sonata op. 51/1 (1957/58)
• Viola Sonata op. 51/2 (1954)
• Violoncello Sonata op. 51/3 (1960)
• Sonata for violin and viola in E minor op.35 (1940–44)
• Works for guitar
• Piano Sonata in E flat minor, Op. 10 (1926/27, rev. 1963)

Prizes and awards

• 1943 Stalin Prize for "Slavic Quartet"
• 1944 Order of the Red Banner of Labor
• 1946 Order of Lenin
• 1947 Stalin Prize for cantata "Moscow"

literature

• The Russian Piano School: SCHEBALIN, Wissrion (accessed December 17, 2015)
• Moscow Conservatory : Vissarion Jakowlewitsch Schebalin (Russian, accessed December 17, 2015).
• Soviet encyclopedia: Shebalin Vissarion Jakowlewitsch . Moscow 1969 (Russian).
• NA Listowa: W. Yes. Shebalin . Sowjetski Kompositor, Moscow 1982 (Russian).
• W. Yes. Schebalin: Articles, Memoirs, Materials . Moscow 1970 (Russian).
• In memory of W. Ja. Shebalin, memories, materials . Sowjetski Kompositor, Moscow 1984, 288 pp. (Russian).
• AM Schebalina: W. Yes. Shebalin: Years of Life and Work . Sowjetski Kompositor, Moscow 1990, 302 pp., ISBN 5-85285-023-3 (Russian).
• WI Raschewa (Ed.): W. Yes. Schebalin's memories - life and work . Molodaja Gwardija, Moscow 2002 (Russian).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Information on Vissarion Âkovlevič Šebalin (1902–1963) in the database of the Bibliothèque nationale de France , accessed on June 6, 2018.
2. ↑ Klassika: Wissarion Schebalin (1902-1963) (accessed December 17, 2015)
3. ↑ W. Yes. Shebalin (Russian, accessed December 17, 2015)
4. ↑ Gubaidulina Sofia biography. Retrieved March 31, 2018 (Russian). 
5. ↑ Omsk University of Music ( Memento from March 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (Russian, accessed June 3, 2018)
6. ↑ Moscow Children's Music School (Russian, accessed December 17, 2015)
7. ↑ ^{a b c d} Wissarion J. Schebalin biography. Retrieved March 31, 2018 (Russian). 

Web links

• Works by and about Vissarion Yes. Šebalin in the catalog of the German National Library
• Catalog raisonné. Internet Edition compiled by Onno van Rijen. November 22, 2011, archived from the original on November 9, 2013 ; accessed on June 3, 2018 .