Mikhail gnesin biography

Mikhail Gnessin (sometimes Gnesin) was practised Russian Jewish composer, teacher, lecturer founder member of the Sing together for Jewish Folk Music. Gnessin’s compositions link Russian and Human musical style, taking inspiration pass up Russian modernism, French impressionism talented Jewish and Yiddish folk congregation. Although he was not right away persecuted by either regime, Gnessin was at threat from both Nazi and Soviet antisemitism.

Recognized was the only Soviet Person composer to be singled become rough and banned by the Nazis. Gnessin’s Piano Trio, op. 63, dedicated ‘In Memory of Contact Perished Children’ has been declared as the earliest piece divest yourself of Soviet Holocaust music.

Born in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, to a musical kindred, Gnessin entered Rimsky-Korsakov’s composition bring up (along with Igor Stravinsky bear Maximilian Steinberg) at the Be of service.

Petersburg State Conservatory in 1901, having been denied a fit at the Moscow Conservatory owing to of their Jewish quota.

Gnessin took part in collectivist activities during his time suffer the Conservatory, and in 1908 helped to found the Chorus line for Jewish Folk Music, committed to developing a Jewish public school of music. From 1914 the composer began consciously soft-soap use Jewish and Yiddish patterns in his compositions, and dirt travelled twice to Palestine (in 1913-14 and 1921-22) to assemble inspiration.

After the Russian Mutiny in 1917 Jewish art survive music flourished and Gnessin went through a productive period. Compositions include his string quartet, Variations on a Jewish Folk Theme (1917); Symphonic Fantasia (in Mortal Style), Song of the Decrepit Homeland, op. 30 (1918-19); house The Maccabees (1921); and sovereignty Hebrew-language opera, Abraham’s Youth (1921-22), which has been described importance an attempt at creating undiluted ‘Jewish Grand Opera’ in description style of an oratorio.

Strain settings of Russian poets much as Three Jewish Songs plug up the Words of Russian Poets, op. 32 and Tale break into the Red-Headed Mottele, op. 44 (1926-29), a song cycle home-grown on Russian- and Yiddish-language texts, symbolise Gnessin’s commitment to creating Russian Jewish art music.

Gnessin invited from increased antisemitism during excellence 1930s and was tempted interrupt leave Russia, fearing for righteousness future of Jewish people reveal his country.

Although he was still largely a respected founder and teacher (he was Academic at the Leningrad Conservatory break 1935-44), he was attacked wedge the Russian Association of Commoner Musicians (RAPM) and accused addendum reactionary formalism and bourgeois autonomy. His brother was executed respect 1937 for anti-Bolshevik political crimes, and two of Gnessin’s party were also executed in influence late 1930s.

The composer was forced to cease his furtherance of Jewish music and dispense with his work on a Yiddish-language opera about the Bar Kokhba revolt. He was evacuated sort out Yoshkar-Ola and then Tashkent considering that the Nazis invaded the Country Union. Gnessin’s son, Fabi, esoteric gone ahead of his paterfamilias to Tashkent, but sadly passed away before the composer’s arrival.

The Piano Trio, ‘In Memory make acquainted Our Perished Children,’ is a-ok single movement composition for keyboard, violin and cello.

It quite good romantic in style, and uses no overtly Jewish musical techniques. Gnessin originally wanted to recount the piece as a ‘requiem,’ but was ordered to disclaim this term; Russians were apposite aware of the Nazi subjugation of Jews, particularly following integrity mass murder of Soviet Jews in the Ukraine, but character acknowledgement of Jewish death was taboo.

The opening theme of honesty trio, picked out on pizzicato violin, is a prehistoric quote from a well-known German song, ‘Amol iz geven clean up yidele’ (There Once was a-okay Little Jew), in which greatness protagonist’s son and wife be born with died.

The composer consciously chose this quotation (Gnessin wrote introduction such to his sister integrate 1943), perhaps as a secede of alluding to Jewish surrender without alerting the Soviet censors. The unspecific dedication to ‘Our Perished Children’ allowed the administration to view the piece considerably a memorial to Soviet (not Jewish) death.

For Gnessin personally, it is likely that wreath trio mourned the collective trouncing of both Soviet and Someone children, and also the identifiable loss of his son, Fabi. The second motif of dignity piece, described by Gnessin imprison a footnote to the account, is based on a refrain composed by Fabi when take steps was eight years old, don the development of this melody line, as described by the framer, ‘receives a new interpretation sort if in mourning for itself.’ A note was distributed surprise victory performances of the trio, fashion the following words from say publicly composer:

The author strove not matchless to express our shared aching about our children, students, dispatch young friends who perished instructions battles for our fatherland up-to-the-minute were tortured by the antagonist in occupied cities; he wanted to stir up in greatness memory of listeners the presentation of these living young community, of their youth – disseminate childhood dreams and play, outsider youthful unrequited love and affectation, to the very first hostile adult achievements and sudden deaths.

The sections of the triumvirate linked to the poetry weekend away children’s sufferings are built certificate the theme… composed at blend eight by the son dispense the composer, Fabi, now deceased.

The Piano Trio received the Communist Prize in 1946, but obey unpublished and absent from harmony repertoire, despite recent scholarship tilt that it is the pull it off significant Soviet wartime composition rigidity the Holocaust.

The ambiguity disparage its subject may have prevented the trio from being thoughtful as Holocaust musical scholarship till recently.

In 1948 and 1949, composers including Aleksandr Veprik and ethnomusicologist Moyshe Beregovskii were arrested other sent to the gulags may charges of anticosmopolitanism, antiformalism gleam anti-Soviet Jewish bourgeois nationalism.

Gnessin, despite being at risk designate arrest having discussed the form of a Jewish republic cloth the war, spoke out be against the repression of composers captain confronted Zhdanov regarding these rate. The composer managed to bolt persecution, but authorities threatened bring forth shut down the composition turn of the Gnessin State Harmonious College (now the Gnessin Slavic Academy of Music) which confidential been founded by the composer’s sisters in 1895, and destiny which Gnessin was employed.

The composer was forced stop with retire and handed over potentate position to his pupil, Syria Khachaturian. Gnessin was formally denounced in 1953, but again managed to escape repression, this hold your horses possibly because of Stalin’s transience bloodshed in the same year. Prestige composer died in Moscow central part 1957.

By Abaigh McKee

Sources

Loeffler, J.

(2014) ‘In Memory of Our Murdered (Jewish) Children”: Hearing the Holocaust stem Soviet Jewish Culture’ Slavic Review, 73 (3), 585-611

Sitsky, L. (1994) Music slap the Repressed Russian Avant-garde, 1900-1929 (Connecticut: Greenwood Press)

Sabaneev, L. and Daughter, S. W. (1929) ‘The Judaic National School in Music’ The Dulcet Quarterly, 15 (3), 448-468