Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy

Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy , 1883-1945, Russian writer. He was distantly related to Leo Tolstoy. Of aristocratic origin, he opposed the Bolsheviks in 1917 and emigrated to Western Europe. He returned in 1923 and accepted the Soviet regime, becoming one of its most popular writers. A master storyteller, he is best known for his vivid historical novels, including the trilogy The Road to Calvary (1921-40, tr. 1946), in which he traces the effect of the Revolution and the civil war on a group of intellectuals. His Peter I (1929-34, tr. Peter the Great, 1936) gives a broad picture of Russia during a period of Europeanization. Some of Tolstoy's short stories are translated in A Week in Turenevo (1958). Nikita's Childhood (1921) is a charming narrative based on his own youth.

Tcherepnin, Alexander (Nikolayevich) (b St Petersburg, 1899; d Paris, 1977). Russ.-born composer and pianist (Amer. cit. 1958), son of Nikolay Tcherepnin. Went to Paris 1921. Earned int. reputation as pianist and in 1923 wrote ballet, Ajanta's Frescoes, for Pavlova, who prod. it at CG. His first sym. (Paris 1927) caused protests because of its dissonance. Wrote several more ballets and scored Mussorgsky's unfinished opera, The Marriage. Visited USA 1926. Prof. of pf. and comp. at DePaul Univ., Chicago, 1949–64. In tours of Far East 1934–7 taught young Chinese and Japanese composers. Mus. influenced by Georgian and Oriental folk-mus. and by his formulation of 9-note scale, leading to complex chords. Comp. 3 operas (one to libretto by Hofmannsthal); 4 syms. (1927–57); 6 pf. concs. (1919–65); harmonica conc.; The Story of Ivan the Fool (cantata after Tolstoy, using elec. devices, 1968); 2 str. qts.; 2 pf. sonatas; and many smaller works.