Belyayev Circle - recordings

[eschiss1]

RussianComposers.org gives 1894 as a date for the composition(?) of Vrangel's symphony.

The same site gives a couple of pieces for orchestra by Artsybushev- a polka caracteristique (op.4, 1890), a Valse-fantaisie (Op.9, 1897).

By Akimenko for orchestra one sees a ballet suite (1916), a concert overture (1899), Poeme lyrique Op.20 (published 1903 in full score), Suite in G minor Op.28 (1903, orchestrated ca.1905), a suite pastorale Op.78, a Fantaisie russe (1900), a Legende, 2 symphonies (still extant?), a Ukrainian Pictures suite... etc. ...

[giles.enders]

Has there ever been a biography of this very interesting man, like Diaghilev, he brought so many interesting people together and nurtured their talent.

[Christopher]

According to his Russian wikipedia page ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Беляев,_Митрофан_Петрович a book was written in 1975 - by V. Ya. Traynin "Belyayev and his Circle", published in Leningrad by Muzyka, 128 pages.  14,000 copies printed.

It also references some articles by the high profile critic Vladimir Stasov 1824-1906), and well as an entry in the now-republished Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (written by first-rank Russian scholars of the day, 1890-1907).

It also references an English book: Davis, Richard Beattie: The Beauty of Belaieff. GClef Publishing, London, 2008. ISBN 978-1-905912-14-8  - quoted at £95 on amazon.co.uk !!

Review from amazon.com:

This stunning 368 page artistic volume features 144 full colour plates. It is the definitive history of the Russian music publishing house of M.P. Belaieff. In producing this work, Richard Beattie Davis has drawn on his vast Russian reference library for original research not available in English. He has managed to bridge the wide gap in the study of Russian Music and art at its most fertile and crucial moments by shedding light on the legacy of M. P. Belaieff (1836-1903/4). The Beauty of Belaieff is a veritable 'who's who' of Russian Music featuring composers from 1780 - 1950. Starting with Alferaki, Artsibushev and Antipov and going to Shcherbachov, Tanyev and Vitol... Who would remember these were it not for the efforts of Belaieff and Davis' research? According to Dmitry Rachmanov (chair of keyboard studies at California State University).... "I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about music and is interested in Music History, Lithography, Ballet, Opera and Russian Music and its composers in particular." Elena Sorokina, Vice-President of the Moscow Conservatory says "Richard Beattie Davis has spent decades meticulously gathering, preserving, and researching this collection, and it has no comparisons anywhere in the world, including Russia." The Beauty of Belaieff is designed for easy reference and will be treasured by scholars, students, performers and anyone interested in this extraordinary, fecund - and decadent - period of Russian cultural history. The book, true to the spirit of the main protagonist, is extravagantly bound in hardback and printed on high-grade paper with the text and 144 full colour plates generously spaced over 368 pages. It is a valuable and permanent addition to any library.


So, there you go! Alferaki anyone!?

[Christopher]

Sorry, couldn't resist!

Alferaki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achilles_Alferaki

Achilles Nikolayevich Alferaki ("Achilles" sometimes spelled Akhilles or Ahilles) was a Russian composer and statesman of Greek descent. His brother was Sergei Alphéraky, a Russian ornithologist and entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. Their father Nikos Alferakis owned the Alferaki Palace in Taganrog.

Alferaki was born in Kharkov, present-day Ukraine, to Nikos and Maria Alferakis. He spent his childhood in Taganrog, present-day Rostov Oblast, in the magnificent Alferaki Palace on Catholic Street (now Frunze Street) designed by the architect Andrei Stackenschneider.

Alferaki was educated at home before attending the historical and philological faculty at Moscow University. There he also studied music theory. In 1870, he returned to Taganrog in order to run the family business[clarification needed]. Following the death of the city's governor Lev Kulchitsky in 1873, he served briefly as acting governor. During the 1880s, he served as mayor of Taganrog until 1888, when he moved to Saint Petersburg. There he became Chancellor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 1891 and later Director of the Russian Telegraph Agency.

Alferaki died in Saint Petersburg in 1919. One of his family's descendants was Anna Marly, a Russian-born French singer and songwriter, author of Chant des Partisans and a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur.

In 1880, Alferaki was elected Mayor (городской голова) of Taganrog. During his tenure, he made many useful public affairs. He made Taganrog beautiful and clean and took part in establishing different charitable institutions. During his mayor's period of office, the city's streets and roads were covered with cobblestones, trees were planted along the pavements, and the first boulevards were introduced. Mayor Alferaki contributed to the establishment of The Society for the Relief of the Aged Poor, established in 1883, and to development of elementary education system in the city.

At the city council meetings, Achilles Nikolaevich Alferaki introduced many new proposals. Some of them looked fantastic and wasteful for Taganrog's politicians, but some of them were realized. For example, Alferaki's proposals to erect a monument to Peter I The Great and to make a major reconstruction of Taganrog's harbor were realized.

Even his mayoralty could not make him forget his passion - the music. He took part in the activity of Taganrog's Music and Dramatic Society. The first music classes and a symphony orchestra, directed by famous hand-master and composer Václav Suk opened in Taganrog.

Music lovers, like Alferaki himself helped Taganrog become known as one of the most music-loving cities in the South of Russia. In 1880, when the Greek composer lived in Taganrog in his mansion on the Catholic Street, he gathered the whole beau monde of the city. Achilles Alferaki was also a talented artist. A large collection of caricatures is now kept at the Taganrog Museum of Local Lore and History and at the Literary Museum named after Chekhov. With these rare sketches and drawings, we have a chance of seeing the people, who lived in Taganrog some hundred years ago through the eyes of a contemporary, getting the spirit of parties and balls of that time.

Alferaki devoted much of his time to music. In the former capital of the Russian Empire he wrote more than 100 romances, compositions and two operas St. John's Eve and The Erl King.

One of the descendants of the Alferaki family was Anna Yurevna Marley, French singer and songwriter. Became known for writing "Songs of the Partizans," which became the unofficial anthem of the French Resistance during World War II.

[eschiss1]

that feels like it should be "band"-master...

[giles.enders]

Thank you Christopher, that is a lot of money but I am sure I shall succumb to temptation sooner or later.  My money seems to disappear like water over Niagra

[Christopher]

I am glad your will is weaker than mine on this one!  Do tell us what you learn! It seems amazon might be a bargain - on Abebooks.com there's copies going at US$216! Though there's also one at US$92...

[eschiss1]

Found a brief Romance (one of his more often-republished works, the 4th of his 6 Op.1 piano pieces, published in 1894 by Jurgenson) - as republished in 1902 in an omnibus of Russian piano music by Schirmer, digitized by Sibley - reuploaded the work to IMSLP here. Doesn't seem to be any other music by him there, yet. I think. (Not visible to new users yet, I think, since I only just uploaded it and it hasn't even hit copyright review let alone passed it. Don't see that there will be a problem, though the composer's name may change on the way to meet naming standards- which I approve of without always quite getting- such is life!))

[Christopher]

Found a brief Romance (one of his more often-republished works, the 4th of his 6 Op.1 piano pieces, published in 1894 by Jurgenson) - as republished in 1902 in an omnibus of Russian piano music by Schirmer, digitized by Sibley - reuploaded the work to IMSLP here. Doesn't seem to be any other music by him there, yet. I think. (Not visible to new users yet, I think, since I only just uploaded it and it hasn't even hit copyright review let alone passed it. Don't see that there will be a problem, though the composer's name may change on the way to meet naming standards- which I approve of without always quite getting- such is life!))

Eric - it's not clear which composer you are discussing here....

[eschiss1]

Sorry!- Vasily Vrangel/Wrangel.

[Christopher]

Aaah!  Well do let us know if you find any recordings. There are some "home-made" ones on youtube:

http://youtu.be/qpDi1QrlbSk - Romance in E major

http://youtu.be/YIOPso0M9TI - Petite valse

both for solo piano

[eschiss1]

Ah, yes. I think those are the two pieces- the Romance and Petite valse- that can be found in the two volumes of Russian Piano Music edited by Max Vogrich (partially) and (more generally) Louis Oesterle and published by Schirmer. The 2nd volume is at the Sibley Music Library, Rochester, NY and has been scanned in, and contains the Romance; the first volume has, I think, the waltz- maybe someone else has scanned it in (or has it in their possession and might do so) and then we'll have two parts of the op.1. Or maybe someone has the first edition of Wrangel's Opus 1 somewhere and would be willing to digitize all of it for upload to archive.org, IMSLP, or a similar public site... - hrm.)

[gclefpublishing]

I've only just seen this post, and while I can't help with the recordings in researching Belaieff we found 12 different spellings but adhere to the one which he signed himself when he wrote in English. I cannot help you with regards to recordings, but the Amani Trio is being played in Sandhurst, Kent on October 12th. 2014 @ 3pm. at a recital in memory of the musicologist, Richard Beattie Davis, who wrote on all of these sadly termed `unknowns`.

You can find more information on Belaieff at www.beautyofbelaieff.com