Alexander Tcherepnin facts for kids
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Alexander Nikolayevich Tcherepnin (Russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Черепни́н, romanized: Aleksandr Nikolayevich Cherepnin; born January 21, 1899 – died September 29, 1977) was a famous composer and pianist. He was born in Russia.
His family was full of talented musicians. His father, Nikolai Tcherepnin, was also a composer. Alexander's sons, Serge Tcherepnin and Ivan Tcherepnin, followed in his footsteps as composers. Even two of his grandsons became composers! His son Serge was one of the first people to work with electronic music. Alexander's mother was part of the artistic Benois family.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Musical Talent
Alexander Tcherepnin was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He started playing the piano and composing music when he was very young. His home was always filled with music and art. Many famous musicians and artists visited his family.
By the time he was a teenager, he had already written hundreds of pieces. These included many piano sonatas. He later studied music formally. His teachers helped him prepare for the Saint Petersburg Conservatory.
Moving to Paris
After the 1917 Russian Revolution, his family left Saint Petersburg. They lived for a while in Tbilisi, Georgia. Alexander brought many of his piano pieces with him. Some of these were later published.
He continued his studies in Tbilisi. He also performed as a pianist and conductor. In 1921, his family decided to leave Russia for good. They moved to Paris, France. There, Alexander finished his music studies. He became friends with other composers.
Global Travels and Family
From Paris, Alexander Tcherepnin started an international career. He traveled the world as a pianist and composer. In 1925, he won an important music prize. He visited the United States every year starting in 1926.
He also traveled to Asia, visiting China and Japan many times. He helped new composers in these countries. He even started his own music publishing company in Tokyo. In China, he met a young pianist named Lee Hsien Ming. They later married and had three sons: Peter, Serge, and Ivan.
Life in America
During World War II, Alexander lived in France. The war made it hard for him to work on music. But after the war, he started composing many new pieces. In 1948, he moved to the United States. He settled in Chicago in 1950. He became a US citizen in 1958.
He and his wife taught music at DePaul University in Chicago. Many students learned from him. He wrote his Symphony No. 3 while living in Chicago. It was played for the first time in 1955. His Symphony No. 2 was first performed in Chicago in 1952. He later moved to New York in 1964. He spent his time between the US and Europe. He passed away in Paris in 1977.
His complete symphonies have been recorded by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. These recordings also include his six piano concertos.
Style and Techniques
Alexander Tcherepnin wrote many different kinds of music. He composed three operas and four symphonies. He also wrote six piano concertos. He created music for ballets and choral music. He wrote a lot of music for solo piano too.
One interesting fact is his Symphony No. 1 (from 1927). It was one of the first symphonies to have a movement just for percussion instruments (like drums and cymbals). This was before other famous pieces that used only percussion.
Tcherepnin also created his own special musical scales. One of his most famous scales has nine notes. It is made by combining smaller musical patterns. This scale became known as the "Tcherepnin scale."
He also used other types of scales in his music. These included pentatonic scales and old Russian tunes. He even used harmonies from Georgia. He wrote about his musical ideas in a book called "Basic Elements of My Musical Language."
Works
Alexander Tcherepnin wrote a huge amount of music. He composed for orchestras, small groups, and solo instruments. He wrote many pieces for piano, including concertos and sonatas. He also created music for ballets and operas.
For a full list of his compositions, you can visit: List of compositions by Alexander Tcherepin.
Recordings
You can find recordings of Alexander Tcherepnin's music here: [1]
