Alexander Serov
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Alexander Nikolayevich Serov
(b St Petersburg, 23 Jan 1820; d there, 1 Feb 1871). Russian composer and critic. He took up music seriously from 1851, writing operas and narrow musical criticism showing him at odds with both factions in Russian musical life, the Slavophiles and the Westerners. His importance lies mainly in his astonishingly successful, Meyerbeerian operas Judith (1861 -3) and Rogneda (1863 -5), not only for their contemporary appeal but also for the great influence they had on later, more subtly skilled Russian composers: Musorgsky's crowd scenes, Tchaikovsky's dances and Borodin's folklike choruses owe something to them. Though not influenced by Wagner, Serov was the first Russian critic to champion Wagner's music.
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Alexander Serov
For the cyclist, see Alexander Serov (cyclist).
Alexander Nikolayevich Serov (Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Серо́в in Cyrillic; Aleksandr Nikolaevič Serov in transliteration) 23 January [O.S. 11 January] 1820 – 1 February [O.S. 20 January] 1871 was a Russian composer and music critic. He and his wife Valentina were the parents of painter Valentin Serov. He was not only one of the most important music critics in Russia during the 1850s and 1860s, but also the most significant Russian composer of opera in the years between Dargomyzhsky's Rusalka and the early operas by Cui, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and Tchaikovsky.
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Biography
Early in life Serov made friends with Vladimir Stasov,[1] but later the two became enemies over the relative values of Glinka's two operas. Serov's admiration for Richard Wagner likewise did not endear him to The Mighty Handful, especially the younger competing critic César Cui, who, like Stasov, had been on better terms with Serov earlier.
Although Serov's operas Judith and Rogneda were quite successful in their day, none of his operas are frequently performed today.[2] A CD recording of Judith (with some cuts) was made in 1991 by the forces of the Bolshoi Theatre under conductor Andrey Chistiakov.
Operas
- Judith (Юдифь, 1861-1863)
- Rogneda (Рогнеда, 1863-1865)
- The Power of the Fiend (Вражья сила, 1867-1871)
Gallery
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Grave of Alexander Serov in Tikhvin Cemetery in Saint Petersburg.
References
- ^ Maes, Francis (2002). Geschiedenis van de Russiche muziek. University of California Press. pp. 40. ISBN 0520218159. http://books.google.cz/books?id=SqWcR336iW0C&pg=PA40&dq=Alexander+Serov&hl=cs&sa=X&ei=3vJhT9bJJoHtOc70nJcI&ved=0CE0QuwUwBA#v=onepage&q=Alexander%20Serov&f=false.
- ^ Apel, Willi (1969). Harvard dictionary of music. Harvard University Press. pp. 745. ISBN 0674375017. http://books.google.cz/books?id=TMdf1SioFk4C&pg=PA745&dq=Alexander+Serov&hl=cs&sa=X&ei=8fNhT6HTKYyXOpKz3ZgI&ved=0CFkQuwUwBTgK#v=onepage&q=Alexander%20Serov&f=false.
Bibliography
- Taruskin, Richard. Opera and Drama in Russia As Preached and Practiced in the 1860s. New ed. Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 1993.
External links
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The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.
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