piano sheet music for Alexander Krein

schweitzeralan · May 26, 2010, 04:03:55 AM

Several months ago I posted a query on where to get ahold of specific sheet music unlisted anywhere. At least I couldn't come across anything at this time. Fortunately a forum participant knew how and where to download this particular piano work by Russian composer Alexander Krein. Now I'm asking the same question concerning other pianistic works by this same composer. I'm particularly interested in the piano subtleties, harmonies, colors and nuances evinced in several chamber pieces; namely, the "Elegy;" "Jewish Melody;" "Three Songs From the Ghetto;" "Jewish Sketches;" "Two Hebrew Songs;" and "Aria." Krein's musical language is trifold: Jewish, Russian, Scriabinesque. Scriabin apparently was his mentor. Krein is a relatively unknown composer, at least in the USA. Unfortunately, at least for me personally, he was not all that prolific. I could not find many listing of his piano works. I do however have his one Piano Sonata. Thanks.

k-k-k-kenny · May 26, 2010, 11:50:06 PM

Here, maybe?
http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Krein,_Aleksandr_Abramovich
I of course discourage violations of copyright, especially where large corporations are the owners ...

schweitzeralan · May 27, 2010, 04:06:59 AM

Quote from: k-k-k-kenny on May 26, 2010, 11:50:06 PM
Here, maybe?
http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Krein,_Aleksandr_Abramovich
I of course discourage violations of copyright, especially where large corporations are the owners ...

Many thanks for your reply. I accessed the source and found it somewhat complicated. I'll continue trying however. I believe I came across several recordings of his work but not the particular scores I was searching for. It may take some time. Again, many thanks for letting me know this site exists. It too has a forum of sorts, I believe.

False_Dmitry · May 27, 2010, 01:00:08 PM

One perfomer who has recorded and released Khrein's works is a friend of mine - and I know for certain that he came upon quite a bit of the printed music by making persistent visits to likely junk-shops in Russia and going through all their printed music... visiting dusty provincial music-shops to see what they had mouldering in their back cupboards... plus calling-round a circuit of musical colleagues, private archives of music of the so-called "Silver Era", the personal collections of retired or deceased piano-teachers etc. The actual business of performing it is much simpler than actually getting hold of it to start with!

schweitzeralan · May 27, 2010, 06:14:30 PM

Thanks for the info. Interesting. Krein is just one of many outstanding composers as well as others who are not as well known as the superstars: Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Scriabin, Myaskovsky, or Shostakovitch. I'm thinking of, among many others: Roslavitz, Feinberg, Lourie, Alexandrov,etc. Krein's one symphony, and his piano sonata, are superb. He composed several vocal music with piano, and I wanted to know f any were possibly available. One forum poster wrote a possible source.

False_Dmitry · May 28, 2010, 02:27:11 AM

Quote from: schweitzeralan on May 27, 2010, 06:14:30 PM
Roslavitz, Feinberg, Lourie, Alexandrov,etc. Krein's one symphony, and his piano sonata, are superb.

Lourie emigrated to the USA, where he largely "reinvented" himself, took a new Americanised forename etc. However, to his bad luck, he didn't experience much more success in the USA than in the USSR - probably his music was too experimental for public taste in either country, and he failed to find support amongst the more academically-oriented musical circles either. He's a very interesting composer - his opera THE BLACKAMOOR OF TSAR PETER THE GREAT still hasn't been performed. I've been pestering the Lourie Society (who are located in Switzerland, I don't know why?) for a chance to look at the score - but they never reply, and I fear that their website isn't maintained any longer.

Like many (most?) composers of that era, his "failure" to write in the oh-so-tediously-fashionable Twelve-Tone Franco-German school meant that academics the world over simply washed their hands of him. One has to hope that eventually we will revisit this era and realise that everyone was enamoured of the Emperor's New Clothes

schweitzeralan · May 28, 2010, 03:08:15 AM

Quote from: False_Dmitry on May 28, 2010, 02:27:11 AM
Lourie emigrated to the USA, where he largely "reinvented" himself, took a new Americanised forename etc. However, to his bad luck, he didn't experience much more success in the USA than in the USSR - probably his music was too experimental for public taste in either country, and he failed to find support amongst the more academically-oriented musical circles either. He's a very interesting composer - his opera THE BLACKAMOOR OF TSAR PETER THE GREAT still hasn't been performed. I've been pestering the Lourie Society (who are located in Switzerland, I don't know why?) for a chance to look at the score - but they never reply, and I fear that their website isn't maintained any longer.

Like many (most?) composers of that era, his "failure" to write in the oh-so-tediously-fashionable Twelve-Tone Franco-German school meant that academics the world over simply washed their hands of him. One has to hope that eventually we will revisit this era and realise that everyone was enamoured of the Emperor's New Clothes

Interesting info. I have several recordings involving the then "new" music of the early Soviet Union. Several of Lourie's works is included. I haven't undergone many listenings to this composers works, his style, harmonics, etc etc. But from what little I have listened to in his case, is that the music tends much toward the abstract, the atonal/serial, the dissonant. I thought his work was quite "Au courant." Sad to learn of his problems.

False_Dmitry · May 28, 2010, 04:22:12 AM

Quote from: schweitzeralan on May 28, 2010, 03:08:15 AM
the music tends much toward the abstract, the atonal/serial, the dissonant. I thought his work was quite "Au courant." Sad to learn of his problems.

It did for a while, but during his time in the USA his style "softened" considerably. I'm not sure whether this was because he wanted to do this for personal/philosophical/ethical reasons (for example as Kurt Weill believed that he had a duty to society to write accessible music), or whether it was harsh economic reality - the need to be published and performed - that forced the change on him?

There is quite a bit of Lourie's music on YouTube from his American period, BTW, and well-performed too.

schweitzeralan · May 28, 2010, 07:00:16 AM

Quote from: False_Dmitry on May 28, 2010, 04:22:12 AM
It did for a while, but during his time in the USA his style "softened" considerably. I'm not sure whether this was because he wanted to do this for personal/philosophical/ethical reasons (for example as Kurt Weill believed that he had a duty to society to write accessible music), or whether it was harsh economic reality - the need to be published and performed - that forced the change on him?

There is quite a bit of Lourie's music on YouTube from his American period, BTW, and well-performed too.

You Tube has several compositions not all that available otherwise. Same with Krein. His wonderful "Poem" is accessible. I'll give Lourie a try. Thanks for the reply.

Popov · June 02, 2010, 04:15:49 AM

False Dmitry, I don't think being disrespectful to so many honest and skilled composers in the avantgarde is fair. Anyway I don't think Lourié's obscurity has anything to do with that, Josef Matthias Hauer's (to mention a fundamental figure in dodecaphony) music isn't played more frequently than Lourié's.

Anyway I'm listening to his music in youtube and I'm liking it a lot, both his Russian (specially the Piano Sonatine No. 3) and American (A Phoenix Park Nocturne) works. I feel I have just discovered a really appealing composer, it's sad he is so little known.

False_Dmitry · June 02, 2010, 08:10:56 AM

Quote from: Popov on June 02, 2010, 04:15:49 AM
False Dmitry, I don't think being disrespectful to so many honest and skilled composers in the avantgarde is fair.

And where exactly was I "disrespectful" to these "honest & skilled composers"? I said that the music critics of Lourie's time placed a higher value on Twelve-Tone Music than on other music. They also rated the Franco-German school of academic music highly. Ross has said exactly this - it's hardly new thinking.

Popov · June 04, 2010, 04:47:56 AM

I'm sorry, it seems I misunderstood

(anyway I think it's only natural several music critics -not really a majority, I think- placed a higher value on dodecaphonic works, it was a great contribution. And things were far, far worse in the USSR in the other sense) But when you talked about "the emperor's new clothes" weren't you referring to the music itself?

Once again, sorry if I misunderstood your post.