Sheremetiev, Count Alexander
Sheremetiev, Count Alexander
Sheremetiev, Count Alexander, Russian nobleman and amateur musician; b. St. Petersburg, March 12, 1859; d. Ste.-Geneviève-des-Bois, near Paris, May 18, 1931. The private choir maintained by his father, Dmitri, attained wide celebrity in St. Petersburg. In 1882 Count Alexander founded a sym. orch. in his own name, and in 1884 a church choir under the direction of Archangelsky. In 1898 he instituted in St. Petersburg a series of sym. concerts at popular prices, conducted by himself and others. Thanks to his inherited wealth, he was able to engage excellent musicians; presented programs of Russian composers, thus contributing to the cause of national music. He also wrote some pieces himself (Pathetische Fantasie for Orch., chamber music, etc.). After the Revolution of 1917 he went to Paris, and died in poverty, in a Russian charity institution near Paris.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire