Markevich, Igor Borisovich

The representative of the Little Russian noble family . The great-grandson of the Chairman of the St. Petersburg Judicial Chamber Andrei Nikolaevich Markevich (1830-1907), the great-great-grandson of the historian Nikolai Andreevich Markevich ^[1] . The cellist’s brother Dimitry Markevich . Father of conductor Oleg Kaetani .

At the age of two, he was taken by his parents to Paris , then the family settled in Switzerland . He received his first music lessons from his pianist father, and from an early age began to compose. At the age of thirteen, Markevich performed his piano suite “The Wedding” in the presence of Alfred Corto , who undertook to teach him and helped to publish the composition. Two years later, Markevich entered the Normal School of Music in Paris, where he studied with Corto as a pianist and with Nadi Boulanger as a composer.

In 1929, the young musician was introduced to Sergei Diaghilev , who played a fragment from an essay that he was working on at that time - Symphonietti. Diaghilev approved the music and ordered Markevich a concert for piano and orchestra and music for ballet . Despite the age difference, they became intimate friends and both made a romantic trip along the banks of the Rhine ^[2] . The concert was written the same year and performed at the opening of the Diaghilev seasons at the Covent Garden Theater (Markevich himself played the solo piano), but the ballet project was not completed due to the death of Diaghilev.

In 1930, the cantata of Markevich was successfully performed in Paris, in which he used the material of an unfinished ballet, and a year later his Concerto Grosso was no less successful. Markevich’s music attracts the attention of Jean Cocteau , Darius Millau , Roger Desormier , and Schott offers him a contract for the publication of his works. Together with Serge Lifar, Markevich is working on two ballets - Rebus and Icarus Flight, and despite the fact that they were never staged, the music of both was performed in a concert. The Flight of Icarus, performed in 1933 under the direction of Desormier, made a sensation in the music world. An unusual compositional style, the introduction of new orchestral colors (in particular, the use of quarter-tone intervals) made Markevich talk about as one of the significant figures of European musical modernity. Critics called him “Igor the Second” (meaning the First meaning Stravinsky ), Bela Bartok spoke about the influence of Markevich’s music on his compositions.

After several years of living in Paris, Markevich left for Switzerland and in April 1935 married Kira Nizhinsky, daughter of the famous dancer of the Diaghilev troupe. Like many other composers in the 1930s, he acted as a conductor and pianist. He previously conducted the conducting privately with Pierre Monteux , successfully led the Dutch premiere of Rebus and the first performance of his oratorio Lost Paradise in London in 1935 (replacing the ill German Scherchen , who was supposed to be behind the console). As a pianist, Markevich was perfected by Alfredo Casella during these years, and his work would subsequently have a significant impact on the development of not only pianistic, but also composer's art of Markevich. He draws close to the Italian musical avant-garde and takes part in the Musical May festivals , and shortly before the start of the war he marries Countess Donna Caetani (1921-1990), the heiress of an old Italian family dating back to Pope Boniface VIII in the 14th century. In connection with the marriage, Markevich moves to Florence . In 1943, he wrote a new edition of Icarus Falls, from which all modernist elements were removed, and in the same year became an active participant in the Italian Resistance Movement (later he will be awarded the gold medal “Partisan of Northern Italy”).

Since that time, Markevich also lived in the center of Rome , in the Palazzo Caetani, inherited by his wife. In 1956, a son Oleg was born to the couple in Lausanne , now an Italian composer. In May 1978, opposite the Palazzo Caetani, the Red Brigade terrorists left a red Renault car, in the trunk of which the police discovered the body of the murdered ex-prime minister and leader of the Christian Democratic Party of Italy, Aldo Moro . In this regard, the international press has repeatedly exaggerated the topic of the possible involvement of Igor Markevich, who was sympathetic to the "foremen", in a tragic event for Italy, but no significant evidence was received ^{[3] [4] [5]} .

After the war, Markevich almost ceases to compose and switches to conducting activities. He toured a lot as a guest conductor (made his debut in the USA with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1955), became the main conductor of the Stockholm Symphony Orchestras (1952–1955), Montreal (1955–1960), the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra (1957–1958), and the Lamoureux Orchestra in Paris (1957-1961). In 1960, he first visited the USSR for tours. Since 1948, Markevich has been giving master classes all over the world, including at the Mozart University of Mozarteum ( Salzburg ), and in 1963 holds a conducting seminar at the Moscow Conservatory . He first recorded a number of works by contemporary composers - Lily Boulanger , Luigi Dallapikkola , Darius Millau , Frederic Mompu , as well as a cycle from all Tchaikovsky's symphonies with the London Symphony Orchestra . In the 1970s, he began work on a new edition of Beethoven's symphonies and on his autobiography.

For a long time, Markevich avoided performing his music, but when in 1978 he received an offer from the Brussels Philharmonic to conduct “Lost Paradise”, he agreed. The concert was a great success, and, inspired by the positive reviews of critics, Markevich decided to revive his own compositions and re-publish them. His plans also included the organization of international conducting master classes and festivals. In 1982, he again visited with concerts in the USSR and received the most enthusiastic reception in his native Kiev. A year later, Markevich died of a heart attack, leaving the plans unfulfilled.

Vocal compositions

• Cantata for soprano, male choir and orchestra, to the words of Jean Cocteau (1929-1930)
• Psalm for Soprano and Small Orchestra (1933)
• Paradise Lost, an oratorio on his own text for soprano, mezzo-soprano, mixed choir and orchestra (1933-1935)
• "Lorenzo the Magnificent" concert symphony for soprano and orchestra, to the words of Lorenzo Medici (1940)

Orchestra

• Symphonietta F-dur (1928-1929);
• Concert for piano and orchestra (1929);
• Concerto Grosso (1930);
• Partita for piano and small orchestra (1931);
• Suite from the ballet Rebus (1931);
• Suite from the ballet “The Fall of Icarus” for two pianos and percussion (1932; second orchestral edition - 1943);
• “Anthems” for a small orchestra (1936);
• A small suite based on Schumann for a small orchestra (1933);
• The Song of Love (1936);
• The New Age (1937);
• The Blue Danube (1944, according to I. Strauss)

Chamber compositions

• The Wedding for Piano (1929)
• Serenade for violin, clarinet and bassoon (1931)
• Gallop for chamber ensemble (1932)
• "Stefan the poet" for piano (1939-1940)
• Variations, a fugue and a message on the theme of Handel for piano (1941)

• Orchestrations of the works of Mussorgsky (song), Glinka (Overture on Russian themes), Bach (“Musical offering”)
• New Beethoven Symphonies (1982)

• “Introduction to Music” (Paris, 1940)
• "Made in Italy" (London, 1949)
• The Organ Point (Paris, 1959)
• Être et avoir été (Paris, 1980)
• The Testament of Icarus (Paris, 1984)
• Articles in books and magazines

• Igor Markevich (English) on the Allmusic website
• Markevich on Boosey & Hawkes website