Life and work Nicolas Slonimsky

1 life , work

1.1 life in russia , europe
1.2 conducting career
1.3 writings , musical criticism
1.4 later life , work

life , work
early life in russia , europe

slonimsky born nikolai leonidovich slonimskiy in saint petersburg. of jewish origin; grandfather rabbi chaim zelig slonimsky. parents adopted orthodox faith after birth of older brother, , nicolas baptized in russian orthodox church. maternal aunt, isabelle vengerova, later founder of philadelphia s curtis institute, first piano teacher. grew in intelligentsia, , after russian revolution moved south first kiev, constantinople, , paris, many other russian musicians , sister yulia slonimskaya sazonova had fled. worked accompanist conductor serge koussevitzky, , toured europe in 1921-22 accompanist vladimir rosing. in 1923 rosing became director of opera @ eastman school of music in rochester, ny, , invited slonimsky join him. younger brother mikhail remained in russia , became author, , nephew sergei became composer.

conducting career

in rochester, slonimsky continued composition , conducting studies, albert coates , eugene goossens, , accompanied rosing @ many vocal recitals, including performance @ carnegie hall in october 1924. after 2 years, moved boston, koussevitzky had become conductor of boston symphony orchestra, , resumed position pianist , bilingual secretary. during time, slonimsky taught music theory @ boston conservatory , malkin conservatory, , began write music articles boston evening transcript, christian science monitor , magazine etude.

grandmother chord  play (help·info), first used nicolas slonimsky

slonimsky began writing songs , other incidental pieces, , performed piano soloist , vocal accompanist. in 1927 formed boston chamber orchestra, solicited music contemporary composers. slonimsky great champion of contemporary music, , through interest in performing met henry cowell , charles ives. conducted world premieres of ives 3 places in new england in 1931 (in new york s town hall), edgard varèse s ionisation thirteen percussionists in 1933, , various other works.

in 1931 slonimsky married dorothy adlow, art critic of boston christian science monitor. active critic , lectured extensively around u.s., serving on panels , art juries. married in paris, varèse best man. daughter, electra, later edited letters , collected works.

in 1932, slonimsky conducted series of concerts in havana highlighting ives, ruggles, cowell, amadeo roldán , alejandro garcía caturla. traveled paris, berlin , budapest conduct further concerts. mentioned @ time found conducting nearest approximation music in motion. popularity of these tours, invited conduct 5 concerts in hollywood bowl in summer of 1933. these controversial , received mixed critical reviews.

writings , musical criticism

throughout life, slonimsky wrote extensively periodicals , newspapers, produced program , liner notes, , contributed numerous reference works. described himself diaskeuast (from greek διασκευαστής), reviser or interpolator . when conducting career slowed, spent more time writing music. produced chronology music since 1900, , later after travelling in latin america, produced first thorough coverage in english, music of latin america. in 1947 published thesaurus of scales , melodic patterns, later become 1 of influential works sourcebook composers , performers. influenced many jazz musicians , composers, including allan holdsworth, john coltrane, frank zappa , paul grabowsky, , remained in print 60 years later, largely ignored years after publication.

two books children followed, road music , thing or 2 music, jokes, anecdotes , puzzles. in 1953, slonimsky brought out lexicon of musical invective ( critical assaults on composers since beethoven s time ), collection of hilariously scathing, insulting, vituperative, , enraged contemporary critiques of musical greats in time. in 1958, became editor of baker s biographical dictionary of musicians, developing reputation citing primary sources, , remained head editor until 1992.

later life , work

in 1964 slonimsky s wife died, , moved los angeles. taught @ ucla 3 years, , lectured , spoke music. possessed sly sense of humor, , regular guest on radio , television programs, including johnny carson s tonight show. new york public television station wnet filmed interview him aging segment of pbs series mind.

he became friend of avant-garde composer , rock guitarist frank zappa, , performed of own compositions @ zappa concert in santa monica, california in 1981. named cat grody-to-the-max after learning phrase zappa s daughter moon zappa.

slonimsky wrote lectionary of music reading dictionary, called it. in 1988, published autobiography, perfect pitch, filled anecdotes musical figures of 20th century, including mentors , colleagues.

for 98th birthday, visited st. petersburg participate in music festival. documentary of life including video of visit, touch of genius, broadcast film america on 100th birthday , available on web. died in los angeles in 1995, @ age of 101.

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