Alexander Vustin
Encyclopedia
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) is a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Biography
He studied composition first with Grigory FridGrigory Frid
Grigory Samuilovich Frid also Grigori Fried is a Russian composer of music written in many different genres, including chamber opera.Born in Petrograd, now St. Petersburg, Frid studied in the Moscow Conservatory with Heinrich Litinsky and Vissarion Shebalin. He was a soldier in the Second World War...
at a regional music college, and later with Vladimir Ferè
Vladimir Fere
Vladimir Georgievich Fere was a Russian composer. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory in 1925 and later taught there.He was a member of a Kirghiz Republic collective assigned by the Soviet government under a plan to integrate national cultures into the arts...
at the Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
, graduating in 1969. Between 1969 and 1974, Vustin worked as a music editor at USSR Radio. From 1974 he worked as an editor at the Kompozitor
Kompozitor
Kompozitor is a music publishers in Moscow, Russian Federation . It was called Sovetsky Kompozitor before the collapse of the USSR in 1991.* *Union of Composers.also:...
publishing house.
Vuslin married Marina Yelyanova, a music editor at the Moscow Radio. Their son Yuri is a singer at "The Ensemble Madrigal" and also a musical improviser. His improvisation were used in various performances and recordings of his father's works.
Music
Vustin has composed since 1963: however, he regards only those works written since 1972 as valid. His musical language is distinctive by the remarkable organization of its musical texture. Vustin uses the twelve-tone techniqueTwelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...
, but in his own original way.
His first notable compositions were written in the midst of the 70s: the eight-minute long The Word (scored for ensemble of woodwinds, brass and percussion (1975)) was dedicated to Grigori Frid; and the three-minute long In Memory of Boris Klyuzner, for baritone and string quartet (1977) was set to the autobiographical text by Yuri Olesha. Another striking piece, Blessed are the Poor in Spirit for boy-soprano (or counter-tenor) accompanied by a chamber ensemble was composed in 1988 to the text from Matthew 5:3-8.
His opera The Devil in Love
Devil in Love
The Devil in Love is an opera in three acts by the Russian composer Alexander Vustin . The Russian libretto was written by Vladimir Khachaturov after the novel The Devil in Love by Jacques Cazotte .-History of creation:...
, to the Russian libretto by Vladimir Khachaturov after the novel The Devil in Love by Jacques Cazotte
Jacques Cazotte
Jacques Cazotte was a French author.Born at Dijon, he was educated by the Jesuits. Cazotte then worked for the French Ministry ofthe Marine and at the age of 27 he obtained a public office at Martinique....
, the result of 15 years of labour, (1975-1989)is probably one of the most important of his works. Despite this, it was not staged yet its musical material nourished the dozens of compositions written in around the same period.
The works of Alexander Vustin are often included in the programmes of many major festivals, such as the "Kremerata Musica", Tage für Neue Musik (Zürich), Holland Festival, the 14th Musik Biennale Berlin, Presènce 93 (Paris), Melos-Ethos (Bratislava), Maraton Soudobe Hudby (Prague), Donaueschinger Musiktage and Deutsche Kammerphilarmonie (Germany), Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus (Austria), Moscow Forum, and Moscow Autumn (Russia). Among performers of his music are the conductors Reinbert de Leeuw, Lev Markiz, Eri Klas
Eri Klas
Eri Klas, is an Estonian conductor.Klas is of Jewish ancestry. Klas graduated as an opera and concert conductor in both Tallinn and Leningrad , beginning his conducting career at the Estonia Theatre in Tallinn and at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow...
, Igor Dronov, Alexander Lazarev
Alexander Lazarev
Alexander Lazarev is a Russian conductor. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and later at the Moscow Conservatory with Leo Ginsbourg. In 1971, he was the first prize winner in a national conducting competition in the USSR...
, Vitaly Kataev, Gidon Kremer
Gidon Kremer
Gidon Kremer is a Latvian violinist and conductor. In 1980 he left the USSR and settled in Germany.-Biography:Kremer was born in Riga to parents of German-Jewish and Latvian-Swedish origins. He began playing the violin at the age of four, receiving instruction from his father and his grandfather,...
, Martyn Brabbins
Martyn Brabbins
Martyn Brabbins is a British conductor. He studied at Goldsmiths College, London University, and later was a conducting student of Ilya Musin at the Leningrad Conservatory....
, and Cristoph Hagel. Ensembles include Kremerata Baltica
Kremerata Baltica
Kremerata Baltica is a chamber orchestra consisting of young musicians from Baltic countries . It was founded by Gidon Kremer in 1997.The name is a pun on camerata, the general word applying to various chamber music groups....
, Amsterdam Wind Orchestra, Schönberg Ensemble, Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam (Netherlands), the Mark Pekasky Percussion Ensemble, Studio New Music, Ensemble of Soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre, the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
.
Works
- String Quartet, 1966
- Symphony, for orchestra, 1969
- Three Toropets Songs, 1972
- Nocturns for chamber ensemble in three movements 1972, revised 1982
- Sonata for Six Instruments, (piccolo, flute, clarinet, viola, cello, and 5 string double bass, 1973
- Sonata for piano (version of Sonata for Six Instruments), 1973
- Lamento, for piano 1974
- Toropetsk Songs, for ensemble, 1975
- The Word, for ensemble, 1975
- In Memory of Boris Klyuzner, for baritone and string quartet, text by Yuri Olesha 1977
- Capriccio for solo female voice, bass chorus and instrumental ensemble 1977
- Memoria 2, concerto for percussion, keyboards and strings, 1978
- Fairy Tale (Skazka) for solo oboe 1979
- Homecoming for baritone and 13 players (2 string quartets, 2 pianos, horn, 2 percussion players), text by Dmitri Shchedrovirsky 1981
- The Diversions of Kozma PrutkovKozma PrutkovKozma Petrovich Prutkov is a fictional author invented by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy and his cousins, three Zhemchuzhnikov brothers, Alexei, Vladimir and Alexander, during the later part of the rule of Nicholas I of Russia....
(Dosugi Kozmy Prutkova), for baritone and percussion, 1982 - Hommage à Beethoven, concerto for percussion and small orchestra, 1984
- Festivity (Prazdnik), for children's choir and orchestra, 1987
- Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, for voice and ensemble, 1988
- The Devil in LoveDevil in LoveThe Devil in Love is an opera in three acts by the Russian composer Alexander Vustin . The Russian libretto was written by Vladimir Khachaturov after the novel The Devil in Love by Jacques Cazotte .-History of creation:...
(Le Diable amoureux or Vlyublyonny dyavol) is an opera in three acts (1975-1989); libretto by Vladimir Khachaturov after Jacques CazotteJacques CazotteJacques Cazotte was a French author.Born at Dijon, he was educated by the Jesuits. Cazotte then worked for the French Ministry ofthe Marine and at the age of 27 he obtained a public office at Martinique.... - Zaitsev's Letter, for narrator, strings, and bass drum, 1990
- White Music, for organ, 1990
- Music for Ten, for ensemble, (text by Jean-François de La HarpeJean-François de La HarpeJean-François de La Harpe was a French playwright, writer and critic.-Life:La Harpe was born in Paris of poor parents. His father, who signed himself Delharpe, was a descendant of a noble family originally of Vaud...
), 1991 - Heroic Lullaby, for ensemble, 1991
- To My Son (Posvyashchenie synu), for ensemble, 1992
- Three Songs, for voice and ensemble (clarinet, bass clarinet, viola, cello, double bass, soprano), text from Andrey Platonov's novel Chevengur, 1992
- Agnus Dei for mixed choir, percussion and organ 1993
- The Birth of a Piece, for string quartet, 1994
- Small Requiem for soprano and string quartet 1994
- Song from the novel, "Chevengur" by Andrei PlatonovAndrei PlatonovAndrei Platonov was the pen name of Andrei Platonovich Klimentov , a Soviet author whose works anticipate existentialism. Although Platonov was a Communist, his works were banned in his own lifetime for their skeptical attitude toward collectivization and other Stalinist policies...
for male choir and orchestra, 1995 - Music for Angel, for saxophone, vibraphone, and cello 1995
- Piano Trio 1999
- Sine nominee, for orchestra, 2000
- Veni Sancte Spiritus, for choir and ensemble
- Anna Karamasoff, music for the film
- The Search of a Sound for solo bells and orchestra, 2008
- Canticum canticorum for voices and ensemble, 2010
- Litania for percussion, voices and organ, 2011
- From the Life of Elves for piano, violin and cello, 2011
Recordings
The most of recording of his music are available and can be heard, at the following link: Classical ArchivesCDs
- Kremerland
- Release Date: Oct 12 2004, Total Running time: 1:18:45
- Label: DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON, Catalog No.: 000339202, UPC: 28947480129
- The tracks include:
- Alexander Vustin: Tango hommage à Gidon, for violin, string orchestra & percussion 7:37 Conducted by Gidon KremerGidon KremerGidon Kremer is a Latvian violinist and conductor. In 1980 he left the USSR and settled in Germany.-Biography:Kremer was born in Riga to parents of German-Jewish and Latvian-Swedish origins. He began playing the violin at the age of four, receiving instruction from his father and his grandfather,...
, Performed by Kremerata Baltica and Andrei Pushkarev
- Russian Saxophone
- Label: BIS, CD-765 Digital
- Audio CD (September 17, 1996)
Alexander Vustin: Musique pour l'ange (1995), for tenor saxophone, vibraphone & cello
Performers: Claude DeLangle, Jean Geoffroy
- Alexander Wustin – Memoria 2, Agnus Dei, Sine Nomine
- Label: Thorofon, CTH 2486
- Memoria2 (1978) Concerto for percussion, keyboard instruments and strings Concert pour percussions 15.06
- Song from the novel "Tchevengur" by Andrei Platonov (1995) for male choir and orchestra 7.37
- Hommage a Beethoven (1984) Concerto for percussion instruments and small orchestra 16.05
- Agnus Dei (1993) for mixed choir, percussion and organ 10.08
- Sine Nomine' (2000) for orchestra 16.29
Quotations
- "In my works I try to solve the problem of time for myself, to track down the effect of a general rule in each individual case and to subordinate it in the compositional process. [...] The subordination of the concrete time of a work under absolute inherent laws explicable by numbers makes a work exciting and demanding." (Alexander Vustin)
- "His individual and inimitable traits shine through in each of his works. Vustin belongs to no school and follows no fashion, but faithfully follows his own line of development, something of especially high value in our time." (Edison DenisovEdison DenisovEdison Vasilievich Denisov was a Russian composer of so called "Underground" — "Anti-Collectivist", "alternative" or "nonconformist" division in the Soviet music.-Biography:...
)
External links
- About the opera Boosey & Hawkes
- Vustin’s works from Boosey & Hawkes
- Vustin page at Classical ArchivesClassical ArchivesClassical Archives is an online digital music store focused exclusively on classical music. Originally opening as the Classical MIDI Archives in 1994 primarily as a repository for free MIDI sequences of classical music works, in August, 2000 the site incorporated as Classical Archives, LLC, and...
- Biography at the Hans Sikorski Page
- Classical composers