GuSSakovsky, Apollon

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GuSSakovsky, Apollon

GuSSakovsky, Apollon, Russian composer; b. Akhtyrka, 1841; d. St. Petersburg, March 9, 1875. He was educated as a chemist and served on the science faculty of the Univ. of St. Petersburg. He became acquainted with Balakirev as early as 1857, and became an associate of the nationalist school of Russian composers; both Balakirev and Mussorgsky thought highly of his talents. The majority of his works were written between 1857 and 1861; among these were Allegro for Orch., “Let There Be Light”, the 1st movement of a projected sym. (St. Petersburg, Jan. 27, 1861), a String Quartet, “Foolish or Comical Scherzo”, piano works, and songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire