Bakaleinikov, Vladimir Romanovich

Family and Origin

The son of a clarinet player who lived very poorly, with a large family: according to Bakaleinikov’s own memoirs,

My father earned very little. We children helped him to earn money by playing at weddings, in restaurants, giving lessons and subsequently giving concerts. We children did not shun any kind of labor. It was a shame not to work, seeing how our mother washed for everyone, cooked for everyone, sheathed everyone and served everyone ^[1] .

Creative Way

At the age of nine, he entered the Moscow Conservatory , studied under Ivan Grzhimali . He was especially known as a quartet musician, including as part of the prominent St. Petersburg Mecklenburg Quartet . In 1914 - 1916 conductor of the Theater of Musical Drama in Petrograd, in 1920 - 1927 . - Music Studio of the Moscow Art Theater ; simultaneously taught in 1918 - 1920 in Petrograd , in 1920 - 1924 at the Moscow Conservatory, among his students was, in particular, Vadim Borisovsky . Honored Artist of the RSFSR ( 1924 ).

In 1927 , together with his wife, singer Julia Fatova, he emigrated to the United States and, at the invitation of conductor Fritz Rainer, took over as his assistant (and first viola) in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra . In 1937 , he moved to Hollywood to work in the cinema, following the example of his two younger brothers, Konstantin and Mikhail, but two years later he again accepted the invitation of Rainer and became his assistant, now in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra ; in 1948 - 1952 headed this orchestra - and, in particular, conducted the Pittsburgh touring performance by Mario Lanza ( 1951 ) ^[2] . With the Pittsburgh Orchestra conducted by Rainer and together with the cellist Grigory Pyatigorsky, Bakaleinikov recorded the symphonic poem of Richard Strauss “ Don Quixote ” as an altist .

In the American period of Bakaleinikov's life, among his students was Lorin Maazel , who followed him to Pittsburgh . Bakaleinikov wrote the manual “Basic rules for conducting an orchestra, brass band and choir” ( Eng. Elementary rules of conducting for orchestra, band and chorus ; 1938 ), the memoir “Notes of a musician” ( New York , 1943 ), a concert for viola and orchestra ( 1937 ), a number of chamber plays, including “Brahmisiana”, recorded by Tosha Zaydel . Attributed to Vladimir Bakaleinikov in many sources, the famous romance “Bells” was written nevertheless, apparently, by his older brother Nikolai. In some sources, Vladimir Bakaleinikov is credited with the Dark Cherry Shawl.