Alexey Verstovsky: biography. The meaning of Alexey Nikolaevich Verstovsky in a brief biographical encyclopedia Verstovsky biography briefly

Alexey Nikolaevich Verstovsky

A.N.Verstovsky.
Portrait by P.F. Sokolov. 1810s.

Verstovsky Alexey Nikolaevich (02/18/1799-11/5/1862), composer, singer, violinist, pianist, major theater figure. From the nobles of Tambov province.

From 1823, Verstovsky lived in Moscow, where he entered the Moscow office of the imperial theaters. In 1825 Verstovsky was appointed “inspector of repertoire and troupes,” and in 1842 manager of the Moscow theater office.

For 35 years (until 1860) Verstovsky played a leading role in the activities of Moscow theaters, which was highly appreciated A. N. Ostrovsky. In 1827 Verstovsky, on the advice WITH. T. Aksakova wrote the opera “Pan Tvardovsky” (libretto M. N. Zagoskina), held in 1828 in Moscow with great success. In St. Petersburg in 1832, Verstovsky’s opera “Vadim, or the Twelve Sleeping Virgins” based on the poem of the same name was staged V. A. Zhukovsky. But Verstovsky’s real fame came from the opera “Askold’s Grave” (1835, with a libretto by Zagoskin), staged 400 times in Moscow and 200 in St. Petersburg by the late 1860s. Verstovsky wrote 3 more operas (“Homesickness”, “Churova Valley”, “Thunderbolt”), which, however, were not successful. Verstovsky is the author of music for various dramatic works, as well as many romances, of which the romance “Black Shawl” with lyrics was especially popular A.S. Pushkin.

V. A. Fedorov

Verstovsky Alexey Nikolaevich (1799-1862). In the history of Russian music of the last century, Verstovsky rightfully occupies an honorable place. His romances and operas, especially “Askold’s Grave” (based on the novel by M. N. Zagoskin), enjoyed enormous and well-deserved success.

The poet's acquaintance with the composer took place in St. Petersburg before Pushkin was deported to the south. While in exile, Pushkin read in the “Bulletin of Europe” the news about the cantata “Black Shaw” composed by Verstovsky and in a letter to P. A. Vyazemsky dated April 1824, he asked to convey a “zealous bow” to the composer. A few months later, Pushkin sends Vyazemsky a musical notation of the gypsy song “Old Husband, Terrible Husband,” which he heard in Bessarabia, and asks to show it to the composer.

Pushkin met Verstovsky with mutual friends and acquaintances - P. V. Nashchokin, M. P. Pogodin and others. This communication was reflected in the composer’s creative work. “Pushkin pestered me to write the music of the Cossack from Poltava,” Verstovsky wrote to S.P. Shevyrev in May 1829, “I came up with a good idea to express all the music at a gallop.” Verstovsky wrote a cantata based on Pushkin’s poem “The Feast of Peter the Great” with the folk song “On Mother, on the Neva River, a young sailor rigged ships” and later recalled: “I often played this song to the late Pushkin, and it delighted him.”

Verstovsky composed 12 romances based on the words of Pushkin, including “Black Shawl” (1823), “Night Zephyr” (1827), “Singer” (1831) and “Old Husband” (from the poem “Gypsies”) (1832).

L.A. Chereisky. Contemporaries of Pushkin. Documentary essays. M., 1999, p. 207-208.

1830s

Alexander Nikolaevich Verstovsky

Russian empire

Alexey Nikolaevich Verstovsky(1799-1862) - Russian composer and theater figure.

Biography

Alexey Verstovsky was born on February 18 (March 1) in the Rastov Sad estate in the Tambov province.

The composer's father was the illegitimate son of General Seliverstov and a captured Turkish woman, who received a truncated surname. From the age of nine he performed in concerts in Ufa. B moved to St. Petersburg. There he was assigned to the Institute of the Corps of Railway Engineers, where he studied for one year. He took piano, violin, singing, and composition lessons on his own.

Creation

The author of mainly musical and stage works - operas and vaudeville operas, as well as ballads. For thirty-five years he was an employee of the Moscow Imperial Theaters - this period was called the “Era of Verstovsky” in the theater world. He created 6 operas - “Pan Tvardovsky” (1828), “Vadim, or the Awakening of the Twelve Sleeping Virgins” (), “Thunderbreaker” (, production) and others. The best is considered to be “Askold’s Grave” () based on the novel by M. N. Zagoskin, which was very popular. The extraordinary success of his best opera was noted by the outstanding critic A. Serov. In 1862, after the composer’s death, he wrote that “in terms of popularity, Verstovsky overpowers Glinka.”

He wrote more than 30 vaudeville operas - “Grandma’s Parrots” (text by N. I. Khmelnitsky, 1819), “Who is Brother, Who is Sister, or Deception after Deception” (text by A. S. Griboedov and P. A. Vyazemsky, 1824) , “Two notes, or Guilty without guilt” (together with A. A. Alyabyev, text by A. I. Pisarev), and others.

He also became famous for his romances - “Have you heard the voice of the night behind the grove”, “Old husband, formidable husband” (based on poems by A. S. Pushkin; the last “gypsy romance” was repeatedly performed by P. Viardot-Garcia), cantatas, and sacred music. In Russian vocal lyrics, Verstovsky created a new genre - the ballad, or “dramatic cantatas,” as he himself called such compositions. These are narrative-dramatic works for a soloist with instrumental accompaniment, written in free form. The best ballads include “Black Shawl” (to the verses of A. S. Pushkin), “Poor Singer” and “Night View” (to the verses of V. A. Zhukovsky), “Three Songs of the Skald”, etc.

Notes

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Categories:

• Personalities in alphabetical order
• Born on March 1
• Born in 1799
• Born in Tambov province
• Deaths on November 17
• Died in 1862
• Died in Moscow
• Musicians in alphabetical order
• Composers by alphabet
• Composers of the Russian Empire
• Composers of the 19th century
• Buried at the Vagankovskoe cemetery

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Russian composer and theater figure. From the age of 9 he performed in concerts in Ufa. In 1816 he moved to St. Petersburg, studied with J. Field and D. Steibelt (piano), F. ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Russian composer. Born on February 18, 1799 in the Tambov province, into a landowner family. Completed a course at the Institute of Railway Engineers; studied music theory with Brandt and Zeiner. To the earliest period of musical creativity... ... Biographical Dictionary

- (1799 1862) Russian composer and theater figure. Representative of romanticism in Russian music. Operas, including Askold's Grave (1835); romances, ballad Black Shawl (1823), etc. One of the founders of Russian vaudeville opera (Who is brother, who is... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (1799 1862), composer and theater figure. Representative of romanticism in Russian music. Operas, including Askold's Grave (1835); romances, ballad “Black Shawl” (1823), etc. One of the founders of Russian vaudeville opera (over 30, including ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Alexey Nikolaevich Verstovsky (February 18 (March 1) 1799, Seliverstovo estate, Tambov province November 5 (17), 1862, Moscow) Russian composer and theater figure. Biography From the age of nine he performed in concerts in Ufa. In 1816 he moved to St. ... ... Wikipedia

- (1799, Seliverstovo estate, now Tambov region 1862, Moscow), composer. From the nobles. He received his education in St. Petersburg. From 1823 in Moscow, in the service of the chancellery, from 1825 inspector of music of the Imperial Moscow theaters, from 1830... ... Moscow (encyclopedia)

- (1 III 1799, Seliverstovo estate, now Tambov region. 17 IX 1862, Moscow) A talented Russian musician, composer and theater figure A. Verstovsky was the same age as Pushkin and an older contemporary of Glinka. In 1862, after the death of the composer... ... Musical dictionary

One of the most talented and very famous Russian composers, b. 18 Feb 1799 in Tambov province, on his father’s estate. He early discovered his musical abilities both as a performer and as a composer. Considered Field’s best student, V. often... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

A. N. Verstovsky ... Collier's Encyclopedia

Alexey Nikolaevich Verstovsky

Alexei Verstovsky is called “Glinka’s rival.” They really lived and worked at the same time. Perhaps they competed a little, although it did not show in any way. But more importantly, they made a huge contribution to the creation of professional Russian music.

Alexey Nikolaevich Verstovsky was born in the Tambov province, on the Seliverstovo estate, on February 18 (March 1), 1799. Verstovsky’s grandfather, General Seliverstov, brought a “captive” Turkish woman from a military campaign. Catherine the Second allowed the marriage on the condition of “terminating the surname.” So the Selivestrovs turned into the Verstovskys (the number of letters remained the same).

Verstovsky's father was already an employee, but could run his own orchestra. All the children in the family played musical instruments and studied. Then the family moved to Ufa, where Alexey Verstovsky began performing, having discovered his early talent. Then he went to St. Petersburg, where he studied at the Institute of Railway Engineers. Despite his profession, he continued to take music lessons, including from John Field. Subsequently, Verstovsky’s life was connected with the activities of managing theaters (the playwright A. Ostrovsky spoke very highly of him) and, of course, composing music. Alexey Verstovsky died on November 5 (17), 1862, and was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in Moscow.

Askold's grave

This is what Askold's grave looks like now

A. Verstovsky wrote operas (for example, “Pan Tvardovsky”), vaudeville (“Who is brother, who is sister” based on the text by Griboyedov and Vyazemsky, staged several years ago by Roman Viktyuk) and ballads. The world famous opera is “Askold’s Grave” (libretto based on the novel by M. Zagoskin). There is a remarkable place in Kyiv - Askold’s grave. Let the people of Kiev better tell about the most ancient tract, the knight Askold, about the monastery and church, and I will limit myself to Verstovsky’s opera.

In the old days there lived grandfathers

Have more fun with your grandchildren;

How to drink plain water

Honey and strong wine;

We had fun, we had fun,

We feasted all year round!

This is how they lived under Askold

Our grandfathers and fathers!

Those interested can see what a huge section is devoted to this opera in the English Wikipedia - even with sound and notation examples. So, the action takes place in the 19th century, in Kyiv, on the banks of the Dnieper. The opera has everything: the love of a pagan for a Christian,

and the mysterious Stranger, revealing to the youth Vseslav that he is a descendant of Askold, therefore, can lay claim to the place of the prince. There is the kidnapping of the bride, and the refusal of betrayal, and the storm, and the death of the Unknown in the shuttle.

There is also an important hero - the horn player Toropka Golovan. That is, all the features of a romantic opera are present. But there is also just good music.

It is interesting that the censorship ordered to move the “action time” a little, and also to produce a happy ending (the prince forgave the heroes).

The opera was a great success all over the world (“We heard... that barrel organs in London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna often play “Hey, Dnieper” or “Oh, my friends, how sad,” as well as other tunes... "). The opera is still being recorded, although not often, but many numbers are heard from concert venues.

An old husband, a formidable husband!

An old husband, a formidable husband!

Cut me, burn me!

I'm strong, I'm not afraid

No knife, no fire!.

This famous gypsy song is full of passion and determination. The author himself, A. Pushkin, gave the poems to Verstovsky. They were friends, Verstovsky even attended the bachelor party that Pushkin organized before his marriage.

Many of Verstovsky’s ballads were written to poems by Pushkin (for example, the famous “Black Shawl”). Alexei Verstovsky was always drawn to the world of antiquity, traditions and legends, as well as to the world of human passions - but that’s how a romantic is supposed to be. And his rich melodies come from Slavic folklore, partly from Gypsy folklore, which can be heard in this song.

Alexey Verstovsky is an outstanding representative of Russian art of the first half of the 19th century.

Alexey Nikolaevich Verstovsky was born on the Seliverstovo estate, near the village of Mezinets, Kozlovsky district of the Tambov province (now Staroyurevsky district of the Tambov region), located on the picturesque bank of the Lesnoy Voronezh river. The parents' house - a one-story brick building with lancet windows - was surrounded by trees. A wide linden alley divided the estate into a garden and a park. The estate belonged to Verstovsky’s father, Nikolai Alekseevich, who served in the Tambov specific expedition.

The Verstovsky family was musical. In the largest room of the house there was a piano and other musical instruments. There was a large music library in the house, brother Vasily never left his violin, sister Varvara was a good pianist. Nikolai Alekseevich's second wife, Daria Mikhailovna Malysheva (Kolokoltseva), discovered the musical abilities of her adopted son Alexei and became his first teacher. One of Verstovsky’s teachers was also the former St. Petersburg courtier Levit Shafranov, who instilled in the boy a love of folk song and its understanding. Due to Nikolai Alekseevich's service, the Verstovskys often had to live in the center of the province - Tambov. Here Alyosha took piano lessons from local musician Protopopov.

In September 1808, N.A. Verstovsky was transferred to service in Ufa. Music lessons continued, revealing a penchant for musical composition. Alyosha composes waltzes and songs. In 1819, Verstovsky made his debut as a composer, writing music for vaudevilles and romances. The music for the vaudeville show “Granny’s Parrots” was especially successful. The grand opening of the new building of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater took place in 1825. For the opening of the theater, the prologue “The Triumph of the Muses” was collectively written. V.F. Odoevsky noted that the public especially enthusiastically accepted “the music of their favorites - Alyabyev and Verstovsky.” In the same year, Verstovsky was entrusted with the post of music inspector of the Moscow theater directorate, and in 1830 - inspector of the repertoire. Thus, Verstovsky’s activities turned out to be inextricably linked with the theatrical life of Moscow.

In the fall of 1827, the composer wrote the opera “Pan Tvardovsky,” which was staged at the end of May 1828 on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater and was a resounding success. In January 1832, “Gypsies” based on the work of A.S. Pushkin was staged. One after another, new operas and romances by Verstovsky appear. But the opera “Askold’s Grave,” first staged on September 16, 1835 on the eve of the birthday of the composer’s wife, N.V. Repina, brought him the greatest fame. A talented Russian actress, Nadezhda Vasilievna Repina (1809-1867), was the daughter of a serf musician from the orchestra of Prince A.E. Stolypin. Her father was bought out by the management of the Moscow State Theater in 1798. At the first performance of the opera, Nadezhda Vasilyevna performed in the title role. This was Verstovsky’s gift to his beloved woman.

Among Alexei Nikolaevich’s acquaintances there were such outstanding personalities as A.S. Pushkin and A.S. Griboedov. Pushkin's humorous letter to Verstovsky dated November 1830 speaks of the friendly nature of their relationship.

In 1859, Verstovsky left the theater. But even after retiring, operas and vaudevilles written by the composer were staged, and romances were performed. A.N. Verstovsky died in 1862 and was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in Moscow.

(1.3.1799 - 17.9.1862) - Russian composer, theater figure. He studied music at home from childhood, and later in St. Petersburg with J. Field, D. Steibelt and others. In 1823 he moved to Moscow, where from 1825 he was an inspector of music, and from 1830 - of the repertoire of the Bolshoi and Maly theaters. In 1848-1860, manager of the office of the Directorate of Imperial Theaters in Moscow. The central place in Verstovsky's work is occupied by musical and stage works - operas and vaudevilles with a pronounced romantic overtones.

The composer's father was the illegitimate son of General Seliverstov and a captured Turkish woman, who received a truncated surname, but he was assigned to the noble class as a native of the Polish nobility. Mother - Anna Vasilievna (nee Volkova) - came from a military environment. From childhood, Verstovsky was introduced to music, since his father maintained a serf orchestra and organized home musical gatherings. Together with his brother Vasily and sister Varvara, Verstovsky studied violin and piano. From the age of nine he performed in concerts in Ufa.

In 1816 he moved to St. Petersburg. There he was assigned to the Institute of the Corps of Railway Engineers, where he studied for one year, after which he entered the service and served in various institutions until 1823. Meanwhile, he continued his musical education, taking lessons from J. Field and D. Steibelt (piano), Tarquini (singing), F. Böhm and L. V. Maurer (violin), Brandt, K. T. Zeiner, Miller (theory compositions). During these same years, he began to be passionate about theater; among his St. Petersburg friends were outstanding theater figures: Prince Shakhovskoy, P. N. Arapov, A. A. Alyabyev, N. V. Vsevolozhsky, P. E. Mansurov, F. F. Yuryev. In addition, Verstovsky actively participated in amateur performances as a translator of plays, an actor, a singer and the author of music for theatrical productions. His first three vaudeville operas “Grandma's Parrots” (1819), “Quarantine” (1820), “A New Prank, or Theatrical Battle” (1822) were staged in St. Petersburg and were a great success. The texts of these works were created by Verstovsky’s friend, the playwright N. I. Khmelnitsky, popular in St. Petersburg at that time.

From 1823 until the end of his life, the composer’s fate was connected with Moscow. At first he was transferred to Moscow as an official of special assignments in the chancellery under Governor-General D.V. Golitsyn, then to the office of the Directorate of Imperial Theaters. From 1825 he held the position of music inspector of the Moscow Theater Directorate, from 1830 repertoire inspector, and from 1842 to 1859 he was manager of the Moscow theater office.

After many years of wandering around rented houses with his wife, the famous actress and singer N.V. Repina, in 1836 they bought their own house on Arbat, in Bolshoy Afanasyevsky Lane No. 16/24, where they lived until moving to Khlebny Lane in 1860. Here they were visited by F. Liszt (in 1843), R. Schumann and his wife Clara (in 1844) and, probably in 1847, G. Berlioz. This house was demolished in 1971.

The years of life in Moscow were filled for Verstovsky with active musical and social activities. The period when Verstovsky was the de facto leader of the city’s theatrical life was called by his contemporaries “the era of Verstovsky.” He showed himself not only to be an energetic administrator and a skillful leader, but also often acted as a director and teacher. He contributed in every possible way to enriching the repertoire, improving the work of the theater school, raising the artistic level of performances, and paid great attention to the selection and education of actors. Through his efforts, music classes were opened at the Directorate of Moscow Theaters, preparing orchestra players for future work in theater orchestras. In 1826, together with A.I. Pisarev, he published “Dramatic Album for Lovers of Theater and Music” (2 books were published). In 1829 he became a member of the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature. In 1833 he graduated from Moscow University as an external student. In parallel with this, intensive composing activity was going on.

Alexey Verstovsky died on November 5 (17), 1862 in Moscow. He was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in Moscow.

Creation
2018-02-25 21:34:25

The author of mainly musical and stage works - operas and vaudeville operas, as well as ballads. He created 6 operas - “Pan Tverdovsky” (1828), “Vadim, or the Awakening of the Twelve Sleeping Virgins” (1832), “Thunderbolt” (1854, staged 1857) and others. The best is considered to be “Askold’s Grave” (1835) based on the novel by M. N. Zagoskin, which was very popular. The extraordinary success of his best opera was noted by the outstanding critic A. Serov. In 1862, after the composer’s death, he wrote that “in terms of popularity, Verstovsky overpowers Glinka.”

He wrote more than 30 vaudeville operas - “Grandma’s Parrots” (text by N. I. Khmelnitsky, 1819), “Who is Brother, Who is Sister, or Deception after Deception” (text by A. S. Griboyedov and P. A. Vyazemsky, 1824) , “Two notes, or Guilty without guilt” (together with A. A. Alyabyev, text by A. I. Pisarev, 1827) and others.

He also became famous for his romances - “Have you heard the voice of the night behind the grove”, “Old husband, formidable husband” (based on poems by A. S. Pushkin; the last “gypsy romance” was repeatedly performed by P. Viardot-Garcia), cantatas, and sacred music. In Russian vocal lyrics, Verstovsky created a new genre - the ballad, or “dramatic cantatas,” as he himself called such works. These are narrative-dramatic works for a soloist with instrumental accompaniment, written in free form. The best ballads include “Black Shawl” (to the verses of A. S. Pushkin), “Poor Singer” and “Night View” (to the verses of V. A. Zhukovsky), “Three Songs of the Skald” and others.