Alexander Dargomizhsky I
This is the first of two episodes dedicated to the Russian composer Alexander Dargomizhsky. He was born in 1813 as the son of a rich landowner in the province of Tula, about 200km south of Moscow. Dargomizhsky saw himself in the first place as an amateur composer and pianist. His proper trade was civil servant with the Ministry of Justice. In 1834, he met Michail Glinka in Saint Petersburg. Together with him, he played piano, organized concerts and analysed compositions of others. Glinka advised him to focus completely on composing. Dargomizhky wrote three operas, a large number of songs and also several orchestral fantasies. He died in Saint Petersburg in 1869.
Playlist
- Alexander Dargomizhsky: ‘Rusalka’ Overture. USSR Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yevgeni Svetlanov
- Alexander Dargomizhsky: 2 parts from the 3rd act of ‘Rusalka’ (Prince’s Cavatina and Mad Scene). Mikhail Gubsky, tenor; Alexander Naumenko, bass; Bolshoi Theatre Male Choir; Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra conducted by Alexander Vedernikov
- Alexander Dargomizhsky: ‘I am sad’; ‘Elegy’; ‘Night Zephyr’. Henk Neven, baritone; Hans Eijsackers, piano; Jan Bastiaan Neven, cello
- Alexander Dargomizhsky: Fantasy for Orchestra ‘Kazachok’; Fantasy for Orchestra ‘Finnish Fantasy: Chukchi’. USSR State Academic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yevgeni Svetlanov
- Alexander Dargomizhsky: ‘Spanish Romance’; ‘The Titular Counsellor’; ‘The Old Corporal’; ‘The Worm’. Nicolai Ghiaurov, bass; Pavlina Dokovska, piano
