Nikolai Karetnikov

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Nikolai Nikolayevich Karetnikov (Russian: Николáй Николáeвич Карéтников; 28 June 1930 in Moscow – 9 October 1994 in Moscow) was a Russian composer of the so-called Underground – alternative or nonconformist group in Soviet music.

Biography

Karetnikov studied at the Central Musical School (1942–1948) and the

Vladimir Vasiliev. However, the authorities found the music unacceptable. It was criticized, and then banned from the performances in the Soviet Union
for decades.

His Symphony No. 4 (1963) received its first performance in 1968 in Prague, just before the Soviet army invasion to suppress the Prague Spring. His third ballet Little Zaches Called Zinnober was performed at the Hanover Opera House (1971) in the composer's absence, because he was not given permission to travel abroad. His main activity at that time was writing incidental music for theatre, film and television.

He continued to compose and publish his serious works in secrecy. He wrote two large scale operas Till Eulenspiegel (1965–1985) and The Mystery of Apostle Paul, (1970–1987). Having no opportunity to perform these works in public, he persuaded the Moscow Cinema Orchestra to make the recording for him privately, section by section over the years. When the tape was ready, the vocal parts were added. This was, perhaps, the only examples of a samizdat (underground) opera. Finally, Till Eulenspiegel was premiered by the Bielefeld Opera in Germany conducted by Geoffrey Moull in 1993, and The Mystery of Apostle Paul was premiered in concert on August 4, 1995, Hanover after the composer's death.

Karetnikov was also the author of a collection of autobiographical stories called Темы с вариациями (Themes with Variations), published in Russia in 1990 (A French translation was published in the same year by Editions Horay).

Works

Opera
Ballet
  • Vanina Vanini, ballet in one act after Stendhal (1960, performed 1962, Moscow)
  • Little Zaches, Called Zinober, ballet in three acts after
    E.T.A. Hoffmann (1964–1967) performed 1971, Hanover, Germany
Choir
Orchestral works
  • Symphony No. 3 (1959)
  • Symphony No. 4 (1963)
  • Concerto for thirty-two wind instruments (1965)
  • Chamber Symphony for 19 instruments (1968)
  • Concerto for string orchestra (1992)
  • Chamber symphony No. 2 (1994) posthumous
Chamber Music
  • 10 Pieces for piano written in school years (1943–1946)
  • Lento-Variations for piano (1960)
  • Sonata for violin and piano (1961)
  • String Quartet(1963)
  • Little Night Music, quartet for flute, clarinet, violin and cello (1969)
  • Concert Piece for piano (1970)
  • Two Pieces for piano (1974)
  • From
    Sholom Aleichem
    , concert suite for chamber orchestra (1985)
  • Piano Quintet (1991)
Soundtracks
  • Incidental music for theatre: about 40 including "King Lear", "A Man for All Seasons", "Macbeth", etc.
  • Film scores: about 60 including "Run", "A Rotten Tale", "First Russians", etc.
  • Radio & TV music

Recordings

  • Melodia C10 29949 000. (LP) Recorded: 1988. Nikolai Karetnikov: Тиль Уленшпигель [Til’ Eulenspiegel] (1985). Soviet State Cinema Orchestra; Conductors: Emin Khachaturian and Valery Poliansky.
  • Le Chant du Monde LDC 288029/30. Nikolai Karetnikov: Till Eulenspiegel (Opera in 2 Acts) 2 CDs. Soviet State Cinema Orchestra; Conductors: Emin Khatchaturian/Valery Poliansky
  • Le Chant du Monde, Russian Season LDC288070, Released: February 1994. Audio CD DDD. Karetnikov, Nikolai: Chamber Music. Performers: Oleg Kagan, Vladimir Skanavi, Vladimir Loukianov, Konstantin Komissarov, Alexander Petrov, Alexander Gothelf, and Yury Slessarev.
  • 1. Sonata for Violin and Piano
  • 2. Two Pieces for Piano
  • 3. Concert Piece
  • 4. String Quartet
  • 5. Quintet for Piano and Strings.

Bibliography

External links
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