Veprik, Alexander (Moiseievich)
Veprik, Alexander (Moiseievich)
Veprik, Alexander (Moiseievich), Russian composer and musicologist; b. Balta, near Odessa, June 23, 1899; d. Moscow, Oct. 13, 1958. While still a young boy he went to Leipzig, where he took piano lessons with Karl Wendling; then pursued training in composition with Zhitomirsky at the Petrograd Cons. (1918-21) and with Miaskovsky at the Moscow Cons. (1921-23), where he subsequently taught orchestration (1923-43). He was associated with the Jewish cultural movement in Russia, and composed several works in the traditional ethnic manner of Jewish cantillations. In his harmonic and formal treatment, he followed the “orientalistic” tradition of the Russian national school.
Works
dramatic: Opera: Toktogul,on Kirghiz motifs (1938-39; Frunze, 1940); Toktogul (1949; in collaboration with A. Maldibaiev). Other: Film music. ORCH.: 2 syms.(1931,1938); Traurnaya pesnya(Sad Song; 1932); Pesnya likovaniya (Peace Song; 1935); Pastorale (1946; rev. 1958); 2 poems (1957); Improvizatsiya (1958). CHAMBER: Rhapsodyfor Viola and Piano (1926); piano pieces, including 3 sonatas (1922, 1924, 1928). VOCAL: 2 cantatas: Proklyatiye fashizmu (Fascism Be Cursed; 1944) and Narod-geroy (The People-The Hero; 1955); songs.
Writings
O metodakh prepodavaniya instrumentovki: K voprosu o klassovoy obuslovlennosti orkestrovovo pisma(Methods of Instrument Teaching: On the Question of the Classification of Orchestral Writing; Moscow, 1931); Traktovka instrumenov orkestra (The Treatment of Orchestral Instruments; Moscow, 1948; 2nded., 1961).
Bibliography
V Bogdanov-Berezovsky, A.M. V.(Moscow and Leningrad, 1964).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire