Volkonsky, Andrei (Mikhailovich)

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Volkonsky, Andrei (Mikhailovich)

Volkonsky, Andrei (Mikhailovich), Russian harpsichordist, conductor, and composer; b. Geneva (of Russian parents of princely nobility), Feb. 14, 1933. He was 11 when he began piano studies with Auber at the Geneva Cons. He then received training in composition from Boulanger in Paris (1945-47) and also continued his piano study with Lipatti, after which he went to Russia and pursued training at the Tambov Music School. Volkonsky completed his training in composition with Shaporin at the Moscow Cons. (1950-54). In 1955 he was a co-founder, with Barshai, of the Moscow Chamber Orch. He then devoted himself to harpsichord playing, and in 1964 Volkonsky organized in Moscow the concert group Madrigal, with which he gave annual series of highly successful concerts in the Soviet Union, East Germany, and Czechoslovakia. His early works were set in evocative impressionistic colors, in the manner of the French modern school, but soon he deployed a serial technique of composition analogous to Schoenberg’s method of composition with 12 tones outside traditional tonality. He was outspoken in his criticism of the direction that Soviet music was taking, and he entirely rejected the officiai tenets of socialist realism. This attitude, and the nature of his own music, resulted in the cancellation of performances of his works; he was expelled from the Union of Soviet Composers, and could no longer give concerts. In 1973 he returned to Switzerland.

Works

dramatic: Music for plays. ORCH.: Concerto for Orchestra (Moscow, June 10,1954); Capriccio; Serenade to an Insectfor Chamber Orch. (1959); Repliquefor Small Orch. (1969). CHAMBER: Piano Quintet (1954); String Quartet (1955); Piano Sonata (1956); Musica stridafor Piano (1956); Musicfor 12 Instruments (1957); Viola Sonata (1960); Jeux à troisfor Flute, Violin, and Harpsichord (1962); Les Mailles du tempsfor 3 Instrumental Groups (1969). VOCAL: 2 cantatas: Rus (Russia), after Gogol (1952) and The Image of the World (Moscow, May 8,1953); 2 Japanese Songsfor Chorus, Electronic Sound, and Percussion (1957); Suite des miroirsfor Soprano, Organ, Guitar, Violin, Flute, and Percussion (1960); The Lament of Shazafor Soprano and Small Orch. (1961; Moscow, May 12, 1965); Concerto itinerantfor Soprano, Violin, Percussion, and 26 Instruments (1967).