Alexander Goldenweiser (composer)

Alexander Borisovich Goldenweiser (or Goldenveyzer; Russian: Александр Борисович Гольденвейзер; 10 March [O.S. 26 February] 1875 – 26 November 1961^[1]) was a Russian pianist, teacher, composer and public figure.

Goldenweiser was born in Kishinev, Bessarabia and studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Sergei Taneyev and Vassily Safonoff, winning the Gold Medal for Piano upon his graduation in 1897. He joined the faculty of the Conservatory shortly afterward, and over his long teaching career there his pupils included Grigory Ginzburg, Lazar Berman, Samuil Feinberg, Dmitry Kabalevsky, Galina Eguiazarova, Nikolai Petrov, Nikolai Kapustin, Alexander Braginsky, Sulamita Aronovsky, Tatiana Nikolayeva, Dmitry Paperno, Oxana Yablonskaya, Nelly Akopian-Tamarina, Dmitri Bashkirov and many others.^[2]

Rachmaninoff's Second Suite, Op. 17, was dedicated to him as well as Medtner's Lyric Fragments, Op. 23.

He made a number of highly regarded recordings as a pianist. He died in 1961, in the Moscow region.

Honours and awards

This article incorporates information from the Russian Wikipedia.

• Stalin Prize, first class (1947)
• Two Orders of Lenin (including 9 March 1945)
• Order of the Red Banner of Labour, three times (27 April 1937, 29 April 1950, 9 March 1955)
• People's Artist of the USSR (1946)

Selective discography

• Piano Trio in E minor, Op. 31. Leonid Kogan, violin. Mstislav Rostropovich, cello. Composer, piano. Melodiya D-9123-4 (LP); released 1961^[3]
• Contrapuntal Sketches, Op. 12. Sonata Fantasia', Op. 37. 'Skazka, Op. 39. Jonathan Powell, piano. Toccata TOCC 044, CD, released 2009. The Contrapuntal Sketches were written in the 1930s. With this work Goldenweiser can perhaps stake claim as being the first Russian composer to write a set of polyphonic pieces in each of the major and minor keys, all of which appear on this recording.^[4]
• Russian Piano School, Vol 1: Alexander Goldenweiser. Music by Tchaikovsky, Arensky, Borodin, Rachmaninoff (also with G. Ginsburg), Medtner, Goldenweiser - original recordings 1946-1955 by Melodiya. NoNoise transfers distributed BMG 74321 25173 2

References

• The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians London: Macmillan, 1980

Notes