Weissberg (Veysberg), Julia Lazarevna

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WEISSBERG (Veysberg), JULIA LAZAREVNA

WEISSBERG (Veysberg), JULIA LAZAREVNA (1878/80–1942), composer and critic. Born in Orenburg, Russia, she studied at the historico-philological faculty of the Women's University and graduated from St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1912, where she studied composition under Rimsky-Korsakov, whose son, Andrei, she later married. From 1912 to 1914 she studied in Berlin with Humperdinck and Reger. From 1915 to 1917 she was coeditor of the periodical Muzykalny Sovremennik. Not evacuated from German Nazi-blockaded Leningrad, she perished during the siege. Her compositions were often lyrical and sometimes in an exotic vein. She also wrote music for children. Among her works were operas, including Rusalochka ("The Little Mermaid"; 1923), Gusi-lebedi ("Geese-Swans"; 1937) and others; a cantata for chorus and orchestra The Twelve (1925); a symphonic poem, At Night (1935), and songs.

bibliography:

ng2; M.F. Gnesin, Moi vospominania o N.A. Rimskom-Korsakove ("Thoughts and Reminiscences on Rimsky-Korsakov"; 1956), incl. Weissberg's writings and correspondence with A.K. Glazunov.

[Marina Rizarev (2nd ed.)]