Ivan Vïshnegradsky

Ivan Alexandrovich Wyschnegradsky (2 May, julian calendar/14 May 1893-29 September 1979), also transliterated as Vïshnegradsky, Wyshnegradsky , Wischnegradsky, Vishnegradsky, or Wishnegradsky ( _ru. Ива́н Алекса́ндрович Вышнегра́дский) (since he emigrated to France, he used "Wyschnegradsky" as spelling for his surname) was a Russian composer primarily known for his microtonal compositions, including the quarter tone scale, though he used scales of up to 72 divisions (mainly third, sixth and twelfth of tone).

Life

Greatly influenced by Scriabin as a young man, Wyschnegradsky had a spiritual experience which conducted him feel compelled to write music in intervals of less than a half-step [Wyschnegradsky, 1972, pp. 75-76.] .

In 1920, he emigrated to Paris. In 1922, he traveled to Berlin to meet with other quarter-tone composers such as Aloïs Hába, Willy Moellendorf, and Jörg Mager. Plans to collaborate on a quarter-tone piano with Hába were interrupted by visa problems, and he was forced to return to Paris.

During World War II, he entered a sanatorium, and was encouraged to continue composing by Olivier Messiaen upon his release in 1950 [Wyschnegradsky, 1996, p. 294.] .

Works

*Chromatic (semitone) works::"La Journée de l'existence", for recitation, orchestra & choir ad. lib., without Op. (1916-1917, revised 1927 & 1939)::"L'automne" (words by F. Nietzsche, translated to Russian), for bass-baritone & piano, Op. 1 (1917) Ed. Belaieff.::"Préludes" (2), for piano, Op. 2 (1916) Ed. Belaieff.::"Le soleil décline" (words by F. Nietzsche), for bass-baritone & piano, Op. 3 (1917-1918) Ed. Belaieff.::"Le scintillement des étoiles" (words by Sophie Wyschnegradsky, his mother), for soprano & piano, Op. 4 (1918)::"Quatre fragments", for piano (1^st version), Op. 5 (1918)::"L'Évangile Rouge" (words by Vassili Kniaseff), cycle for voice & piano (1^st version), Op. 8 (1918-1920)::"Le mot", for soprano & piano, Op. 36 (1953)::"Prélude", for piano, Op. 38a (1956)::"String Quartet #3", Op. 38b (1945-1958)::"Étude sur le carré magique sonore", for piano, Op. 40 (1956) Ed. Belaieff.

*Third tones works::"Prélude et danse", for Carrillo third tones piano, Op. 48 (1966)

*Quarter tones works::"Quatre fragments", for 2 pianos in quarter tones (2^nd version), Op. 5 (1918)::"L'Évangile Rouge", cycle for voice & 2 pianos in quarter tones (2^nd version), Op. 8 (1918-1920)::"Chants sur Nietzsche" (2), for baritone & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 9 (1923)::"Variations sur la note Do", for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 10 (1918-1920)::"Dithyrambe", for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 12 (1923-1924, revised vers. by Bruce Mather, 1991)::"String Quartet #1", Op. 13 (1923-1924)::"Chœurs" (2, words by A. Pomorsky), for mixed choir, 4 pianos in quarter tones & percussions, Op. 14 (1926)::"Prélude et fugue sur un chant de l'Évangile rouge", for quartertone piano, version for string quartet (lost), Op. 15 (1927)::"Prélude et danse", for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 16 (1926)::"Ainsi parlait Zarathoustra", symphonie, for 4 pianos in quarter tones (sketches for orchestration in Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris), Op. 17 (1929-1930, revised 1936, Ed. L'Oiseau-Lyre)::"String Quartet #2", Op. 18 (1930-1931)::"Études de concert"(2), for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 19 (1931)::"Étude en forme de scherzo", for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 20 (1931)::"Prélude et fugue", for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 21 (1932)::"Pièces" (2), for 2 pianos in quarter tones, without Op. (1934)::"Préludes dans tous les tons de l'échelle chromatique diatonisée à 13 sons" (24), for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 22 (1934, rev. 1960) Ed. Belaieff.::"Premier fragment symphonique", for 4 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 23a; for orchestra, Op. 23c (1934, orch. vers. 1967)::"Deuxième fragment symphonique", for 4 pianos in quarter tones, timpani & percussions, Op. 24 (1937)::"Poème", for 2 pianos in quarter tones, without Op. (1937)::"Linnite", pantomime in 1 act & 5 scenes, for 3 voices & 4 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 25 (1937)::"À Richard Wagner", for baritone & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 26 (1934)::"Acte chorégraphique", for bass-baritone, mixed choir, 4 pianos in quarter tones, percussions & ad. lib. instruments (viola, clarinet in C & balalaika), Op. 27 (1937-1940)::"Cosmos", for 4 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 28 (1939-1940) Ed. Belaieff.::"Chants russes" (2), for bass-baritone & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 29 (1940-1941)::"Troisième fragment symphonique", for 4 pianos in quarter tones & ad. lib. percussions, Op. 31 (1946)::"Fugues" (2), for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 32 (1951)::"Variations sans thème et conclusion" (5), for orchestra, Op. 33 (1951-1952)::"Sonate en un mouvement", for viola & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 34 (1945-1959)::"Transparence I", for Onde Martenot & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 35 (1953)::"Quatrième fragment symphonique", for 4 Ondes Martenot & 4 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 38c (1956)::"Polyphonies spatiales", for piano, harmonium, Onde Martenot, percussions & string orchestra, Op. 39 (1956)::"Études sur les densités et les volumes", for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 39b (1956)::"Dialogue à deux", for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 41 (1958-1973)::"Dialogue", for 2 pianos in quarter tones, 8 hands, without Op. (1959)::"Composition en quarts de ton" for string quartet Op. 43 (1960) Ed. Belaieff.::"Études sur les mouvements rotatoires", for 2 pianos in quarter tones, 8 hands, Op. 45a.; for chamber orchestra, Op. 45c (1961) Ed. Belaieff.::"Composition II", for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 46b (1960)::"Transparence II", for Onde Martenot & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 47 (1962-1963)::"Intégrations", for 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 49 (1962)::"L'Éternel Étranger", opera, for voices, mixed choir, 4 pianos in quarter tones, percussions and orchestra (unfinished orchestration), Op. 50 (1940-1960)::"Symphonie en un mouvement", for orchestra, Op. 51b (1969)::"Composition", for Ondes Martenot quartet, Op. 52 (undated)::"String Trio", Op. 53 (1979, unfinished, completed by Claude Ballif)::"Trauergesang", "Epigrammen", "Ein Stück", for quartertone piano, without Op. (undated, found by M. Smolka in Alois Hába's archives in 1992)

*31-tones work::"Étude ultrachromatique", for Fokker 31-tones organ, Op. 42 (1959)

*Sixth tones works::"Prélude et fugue", for 3 pianos in sixth tones, Op. 30 (1945)::"Poème", for Carrillo sixth tones piano, Op. 44a (1958)::"Études sur les mouvements rotatoires", for 3 pianos in sixth tones & orchestra, Op. 45b (1961)::"Composition I", for 3 pianos in sixth tones, Op. 46a (1961)::"Dialogue à trois", for 3 pianos in sixth tones, Op. 51 (1973-1974)::"Méditations" (2), for 3 pianos in sixth tones, without Op. (undated)

*Twelfth tones works::"Arc-en-ciel", for 6 pianos in twelfth tones, Op. 37 (1956)::"Étude", for Carrillo twelfth tones piano, Op. 44b (1958)

*Mixed micro-intervals::"Chant douloureux et étude", for violin & piano, Op. 6 (1918) (third, quarter, sixth & eighth tones in the violin part)::"Méditation sur deux thèmes de la Journée de l'existence", for cello & piano, Op. 7 (1918-1919) (third, quarter & sixth tones in the cello part)::"Chant nocturne", for violin & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 11 (1927, revised 1971) (quarter, sixth & eighth tones in the violin part)::"Œuvre sans titre", for 3 pianos in sixth tones & piano in quarter tones, without Op. (undated)

Recordings (selection)

::All of the string works have been recorded by the Arditti Quartet (Edition Block).

Writings (selection)

* "Manuel d'harmonie à quarts de ton", La Sirène Musical, Paris, 1932, republished by Ed. Max Eschig, Paris, 1980.
* "L'ultrachromatisme et les espaces non octaviants", La Revue Musicale # 290-291, pp. 71-141, Ed. Richard-Masse, Paris, 1972.
* "La Loi de la Pansonorité" (Manuscript, 1953), Ed. Contrechamps, Geneva, 1996. Preface by Pascal Criton, edited by Franck Jedrzejewski. ISBN 2-940068-09-7.
* "Une philosophie dialectique de l'art musical" (Manuscript, 1936), Ed. L'Harmattan, Paris, 2005, edited by Franck Jedrzejewski. ISBN 2-7475-8578-6.

References

ources

* [http://opera.stanford.edu/composers/W.html Opera Glass]

External links

* [http://music.dartmouth.edu/~franck/wys.htm Dartmouth.edu: Ivan Wyschnegradsky] by Franck Jedrzejewski
* [http://www.xs4all.nl/~huygensf/english/wyschnegradsky.html Huygens-Fokker Foundation: Ivan Wyschnegradsky]
* [http://www.tierceron.com/diss/wysch.html Dissertation by Myles Skinner on the "Préludes Op. 22" for 2 pianos tuned a quartertone apart]
* [http://www.ex-tempore.org/beaulieu/BEAULIEU.htm| M. Beaulieu: "Cyclical Structures and Linear Voice-Leading in the Music of Ivan Wyschnegradsky"]