Alexei Haieff
Alexei Vasilievich Haieff (August 25, 1914 – March 1, 1994)[1] was an American composer of orchestral and choral works. He is known for following Stravinsky's neoclassicism, observing an austere economy of means, and achieving modernistic effects by a display of rhythmic agitation, often with jazzy undertones.
Background
Born in Blagoveshchensk, in the Russian Far East, Haieff received his primary education at Harbin, Manchuria.[2] In 1931 he went to the U.S., where he studied with Rubin Goldmark and Frederick Jacobi at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City (1934–38). In 1938-39 he also studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He became a U.S. citizen and held U.S. citizenship for 55 years, until his death.
He held a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1946 and again in 1949, and was a Fellow at the American Academy in Rome (1947–48). His Divertimento (1944) was choreographed by George Balanchine in 1947. He won the Rome Prize in 1949. He was a professor at the University at Buffalo (1962–68), and composer-in-residence at the University of Utah (1968–70). His Piano Concerto won the New York Music Critics’ Circle Award (1952) and his 2nd Symphony the American International Music Fund Award (1957).[3]
Haieff's notable students include Paul Ramsier.
He was married to Sheila Jeanne Agatha van Meurs in 1988.[4] He died in Rome, Italy, at the age of 79.
List of works
Ballets
- The Princess Zondilda and Her Entourage (1946)
- Beauty and the Beast (1947)
Orchestral
- Symphony No. 1 (1942)
- Symphony No. 2 (Boston, April 11, 1958)
- Symphony No. 3 (New Haven, Conn., April 11, 1961)
- Divertimento (N.Y., April 5, 1946)
- Violin Concerto (1948)
- Piano Concerto (N.Y., April 27, 1952)
- Ballet in E (1955)
- Éloge for Chamber Orch. (1967)
Chamber music
- Sonatina for String Quartet (1937)
- 3 Bagatelles for Oboe and Bassoon (1939)
- Serenade for Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Piano (1942)
- Eclogue for Cello and Piano (1947)
- String Quartet (1951)
- La Nouvelle Héloïse for Harp and String Quartet (1963)
- Cello Sonata (1963)
- Rhapsodies for Guitar and Harpsichord (1980)
- Wind Quintet (1983)
Piano Compositions
- Sonata for 2 Pianos (1945)
- Gifts and Semblances (1940–48)
- Five Pieces for Piano (1946–48)
- Four Juke Box Pieces (1952)
- Notes of Thanks (1954–61)
- Piano Sonata (1955)
Vocal/Choral
- Caligula for Baritone and Orch., after Robert Lowell (N.Y., Nov. 5, 1971)
Recordings in current CD release ( with selected movements available on YouTube):
- Piano Concerto (N.Y., April 27, 1952) CD Tiger of Harbin
- Divertimento (N.Y., April 5, 1946) CD Kyriena
- Ballet in E (1955) CD Kyriena
- Sonata for Violoncello and Piano (1963) CD Kyriena
- String Quartet (1951) CD Kyriena
- Sonata for 2 Pianos (1945) CD Kirill and Anna Gliadkovsky Play Alexei Haieff (also on CD Tiger of Harbin)
- Gifts and Semblances (1940–48) CD Kirill and Anna Gliadkovsky Play Alexei Haieff (also on CD Manhattan Piano)
- Five Pieces for Piano (1946–48) CD Manhattan Piano
- Four Juke Box Pieces (1952) CD Manhattan Piano (also on CD K and A Gliadkovsky Play A H)
- Notes of Thanks (1954–61) CD Manhattan Piano
- Piano Sonata (1955) CD Manhattan Piano (also on CD Tiger of Harbin)
References
- ^ Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Centennial Edition. Nicolas Slonimsky, Editor Emeritus. Schirmer, 2001.
- ^ New York Public Library Digital Collection http://digilib.nypl.org/dynaweb/ead/nypl/mushaieff/@Generic__BookView
- ^ "Alexei Vasilievich Haieff." Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Centennial Edition. Nicolas Slonimsky, Editor Emeritus. Schirmer, 2001
- ^ Peerage of the House of Lords http://www.thepeerage.com/p15215.htm
External links
- (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/04/AR2010030404787.html Review of Haieff Divertimento ballet performance in Mar 2010 Kennedy Center, Washington D.C.
- New York Times obituary
- Interview with Alexei Haieff by Bruce Duffie, August 17, 1989
- (http://www.alexei.com New CD releases of Alexei Haieff music by Alexei Records, January 21, 2010