What genre was the main one in Verstovsky’s work? The meaning of Alexey Nikolaevich Verstovsky in a brief biographical encyclopedia

Alexey Nikolaevich (02/18/1799, Seliverstovo estate, near the village of Mezinets, Kozlovsky district, Tambov province - 11/5/1862, Moscow), Russian. composer, musical and theater figure. V.'s first music teacher was the regent from the village. Mezinets, former court singer Levit Shafranov. In 1816-1817 V. studied in St. Petersburg, then moved to Moscow and served in various civil institutions. Since 1825, inspector of music, since 1830, inspector of the repertoire of Moscow imperials. theaters, in 1848-1860. office manager of the Moscow imperial directorate. theaters V. is the author of operas (“Askold’s Grave”, “Thunderbolt”), vaudevilles, vocal-symphonic and piano works, ballads and romances. He was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery.

In the 30s V. created 3 spiritual concerts and “Lunch” (hymns from the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom). According to N.F. Findeizen, these works were performed in the c. Ascension at the Nikitsky Gate and in the University Church. mts. Tatiana (Findeisen. pp. 115-116). A. A. Alyabyev gave a positive assessment of “Lunch” in his letter of 1834 (Steinpress B.S. Pages from the life of A. A. Alyabyev. M., 1956. P. 267). V. also owns the “Presanctified Mass” (chants of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts), created, possibly, in the late period of the composer’s work.

Works of spiritual content include the hymn “Great is the Lord” (to the words of N. M. Yazykov) for choir and orchestra, composed by V. for the benefit of orphans left after the death of their parents during the cholera epidemic (it was performed in 1831 in the hall of the Moscow Noble Assembly) .

Spiritual-music The compositions are distinguished by a concert style; in terms of intonation they are close to the opera and romance works of V. All concerts are written in a 3-part form; The structure of the parts is characterized by repetition of thematic structures. Unlike his contemporaries, V. less often uses the comparison of solo (or ensemble) and choral sound, as well as techniques of imitative polyphony. Within the framework of early romantic harmony, V. widely used elliptical sequences of seventh chords and their inversions, and chromatic movements of voices. Great severity of textural and harmonic presentation distinguishes certain hymns of the “Pre-Consecrated Mass.”

V.’s works on liturgical texts remained unpublished, although the composer sent the “Mass” to St. Petersburg to the director of the Court Singing Chapel F. P. Lvov, as reported in a letter to V. F. Odoevsky in 1836 (Autobiography of the Composer Verstovsky / Communication B. Modzalevsky // Biryuch Petrograd State Academic Theatres: Collection of articles [Pg.], 1920. Issue 2. P. 236). In this letter, V. also mentions his concert “Tell me, Lord” for 4 voices (not found at present). “Lunch” and V.’s spiritual concerts were included in his handwritten collection of works; “Presanctified Mass” is kept in the archives of Archpriest. Dimitry Razumovsky.

Op.: “Lunch” (Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom), concerts: “I will exalt Thee, O Lord,” “Hear, O God, my voice,” “Lord, my God, trust in Thee.” For men choir (2 tenors and 2 basses): Rkp. // Collection Op. / MGK. T. 9. pp. 167-187, 189-225; Presanctified Mass // RSL OR. F. 380. K. 21. No. 4.

N. Yu. Plotnikova

01 March 1799 - 17 November 1862

Russian composer and theater figure

Biography

Alexey Verstovsky was born on February 18 (March 1), 1799 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. 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. He took piano, violin, singing, and composition lessons on his own.

From 1823 he lived in Moscow. After many years of wandering around rented houses with his wife, the very famous actress and singer N.V. Repina, they finally bought their own house on Arbat, in Bolshoy Afanasyevsky Lane No. 16/24, where they lived from 1836 to 1860, until moving to Khlebny Lane. Here they are visited by F. Liszt (in 1843), F. Schumann and Clara Wieck (in 1844) and, probably in 1847, G. Berlioz. Their house was demolished in 1971. Verstovsky A. N. - music inspector (from 1825), inspector of the repertoire of the imperial Moscow theaters (from 1830), manager of the office of the Directorate of the imperial Moscow theaters (1848-1860).

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

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” (1832), “Thunderbolt” (1854, staged 1857) and others. The best is considered “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”, etc.

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.

Verstovsky Alexey Nikolaevich

IN Erstovsky Alexey Nikolaevich - 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. The earliest period of Verstovsky's musical creativity includes a piano sonata, songs, and couplets for vaudeville. He preferred a musical career to an engineering one and moved in the artistic world of St. Petersburg, often performing in private homes as an actor and singer. His opera-vaudeville "Grandma's Parrots" (translation from French by P.I. Khmelnitsky) was staged in 1819 in St. Petersburg; it was followed by vaudeville operas: “Quarantine” (1820), “A New Prank, or Theatrical Battle” (1882, in collaboration with and); "Madhouse, or Strange Wedding" (1822); "The Sentimental Landowner" (1822). The most successful was “The Madhouse,” which was performed on stage back in 1849. In 1822, Verstovsky moved to Moscow, joining the Moscow office of the imperial theaters. In 1825 he was appointed "inspector of repertoire and troupes", and in 1842 - manager of the Moscow office. Verstovsky had almost unlimited influence on theatrical affairs. His wife also had a great influence on theatrical life. In Moscow, during the first period of his activity, vaudevilles with his music were staged one after another: “Teacher and student, or a hangover at someone else’s feast” (1822), “The Troublemaker, or the Master’s Business is Afraid” in one act (1824), “Fun of the Caliph, or Jokes for One Day", "Meeting of Stagecoaches", "Thirty Thousand People", "Three Tens" (the last four - in 1825). At the opening of the Petrovsky Theater in Moscow (1825), the prologue “The Triumph of the Muses” was staged, in which the music of the anthem belonged to Verstovsky. The last vaudevilles with Verstovsky's music (sometimes in collaboration with Alyabyev) were staged in 1827 - 32 ("Shepherdess, Old Lady, Sorceress, or What Women Like", "A Means to Marry Daughters", "New Paris", "Stanislav" and "Roslavlev "). In the patriotic play "Kremnev", performed in 1839, Nastya's song belongs to Verstovsky (on its theme Vietant composed variations for the violin). In 1827, according to the idea, Verstovsky began composing the opera "Pan Tvardovsky" (on a libretto), staged in 1828 in Moscow with great success. The opera "Vadim, or the Twelve Sleeping Virgins", based on the professor's libretto from the poem of the same name (2nd part), was first performed in St. Petersburg in 1832. Verstovsky was given real fame by the opera "Askold's Grave" (libretto by Zagoskin), staged in Moscow on September 16 1835 , in St. Petersburg - August 27, 1841 with the famous in the role of the Unknown. Until the end of the 1860s, it was given in the imperial theaters - about 200 times in St. Petersburg, and more than 400 times in Moscow. The operas that followed - “Homesickness” (1839), “Churova Valley, or a Dream in reality” (1841) and “Thunderbolt” (1858; libretto based on the first part of “Vadim” by V.A. Zhukovsky) were far from successful "Askold's Tomb" and soon left the repertoire. Verstovsky also owns music for various dramatic works ("The Power of Songs", 1817; "Hesiod and Olaf", 1827); cantatas and choirs, including “Three Songs, or Oswald” and “Singer in the Camp of Russian Warriors”, cantata to words by S.P. Shevyrev for the celebration of the anniversary of Moscow University in January 1855, an anthem for choir and orchestra “Great is the Lord,” two military anthems; several dozen romances; of these, “Black Shawl” () and “Bell” were performed on stage, and the gypsy romance “Old Husband, Terrible Husband” (Pushkin) was performed more than once; two Polish for orchestra; three masses with spiritual concerts (1830), performed in the University and Holy Ascension churches in Moscow (not published). In 1826, Verstovsky, together with him, published the "Dramatic Album for 1826." in two parts, musical and literary; the latter contains an article by Verstovsky (unfinished): “Excerpts from the history of dramatic music.” In 1827 - 1828 he published the "Musical Album". These albums also contain some of his musical compositions. With his retirement (1850), Verstovsky not only lost influence, but was also directly forgotten (except for “Askold’s Grave”). In a letter written in 1861, he complains about his fate: “For “Askold’s Grave” the Moscow directorate gave me two thousand in banknotes at a time - they collected one hundred thousand in silver in income from the opera, and now, being retired, I have to buy myself a place in the theater to look at my old sins..." He died on November 5, 1862. Verstovsky's importance in the history of Russian music is based mainly on his operas, of which the most typical is "Askold's Grave", and now appears occasionally in Russian scenes In Verstovsky's operas, music gives way to conversation, as in vaudeville. The compositional technique is imperfect. The music is not fully developed; vocal forms (solos, duets) are reduced to a series of verses with music repeated with each verse. The orchestra has no independent significance; the orchestration is primitive. She obviously made it difficult for the composer, and he often entrusted this work to the theater conductor. The central music library of the imperial theaters houses the score of Askold's Grave with Voyacek's orchestration. Verstovsky's operas reflected the romantic direction that dominated Russian literature at that time. The music is sometimes very naive, despite the influence of Mozart and Weber. Like the latter, Verstovsky also shows a penchant for fantasy, but this element is weakly expressed. There is almost no drama. But Verstovsky’s music also has stronger and more characteristic sides. He was no stranger to humor, which was also noticed. His melodic creativity is spontaneous, varied, typical and bears a national imprint; although the Russian style and harmonization are not consistent, this feature of his music makes him, together with Alyabiev, a predecessor in the creation of a national Russian school in music. Verstovsky's manuscripts are kept (according to his will) at the Moscow Conservatory. - Wed. , "A.N.V." ("Yearbook of the Imperial Theaters", 1896 - 97, 2nd supplement). In the "Russian Musical Newspaper", 1899, No. 1, a list of Verstovsky's works and a bibliography about him were published.

Other interesting biographies.

Alexey Nikolaevich Verstovsky was born on February 18, 1799. He was the director of Moscow theaters. His activities in the Moscow Imperial Theater Company turned out to be so important that Muscovites nicknamed the Moscow theaters “Verstovsky theatres.”

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.

A. N. Verstovsky is Glinka’s forerunner in founding the national Russian opera. Wrote the operas “Pan Tvardovsky” (1828), “Vadim, or the 12 Sleeping Virgins” (1832), “Askold the Grave” (1835), “Homesickness” (1835), “Churova Valley” "(1841) and "Thunderbolt" (1858). Of all these magical-dramatic operas, “Askold’s Grave”, based on the novel by M. N. Zagoskin, gained enormous popularity, which glorified the composer and remained in the operatic repertoire for a long time. 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.”

A. N. Verstovsky also wrote more than 30 vaudeville operas. Among them are “Grandmother’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”, etc.

The enormous significance of Verstovsky’s creativity was overshadowed by his tragic oblivion during his lifetime. New movements and new generations of musicians appeared on the scene. Gradually freeing themselves from old, already noisy performances with Verstovsky’s music, theaters took on new works in their repertoire. M. Glinka’s opera “Life for the Tsar” brought a new impetus to the development of Russian musical culture in 1836. Verstovsky took this seriously.