Alexander Tcherepnin

Alexander Nikolayevich Tcherepnin (born January 21, 1899; died September 29, 1977) was a Russian composer and pianist. His father, Nikolay Tcherepnin, and his son, Ivan Tcherepnin, were also composers. His mother (née Benois) was a niece of Alexandre Benois.

His early works were fairly original and some of his pieces had enduring popularity. His output includes four symphonies, six piano concertos, and a large amount of solo piano music. His first symphony is remarkable for including the first symphonic movement ever written completely for unpitched percussion. Another symphony, left incomplete at his death, would have been for percussion alone. Tcherepnin invented his own harmonic language by combining minor and major hexachords, pentatonic scales, old Russian modal tunes and Georgian harmonies.

He was born in St Petersburg, Russia. After the 1917 Russian Revolution, he defected and lived in France and the United States. He visited the Far East between 1934 and 1937. He promoted composers in Japan (Akira Ifukube and others) and China. He married a Chinese pianist, Lee Hsien Ming, while in China.

During World War II, he lived in France. In 1948, he went to the United States, and in 1958, he acquired United States citizenship. He taught at DePaul University in Chicago, where the Chicago Symphony Orchestra premiered his second symphony with Rafael Kubelik conducting. His students there included Gloria Coates and John Downey. He died in Paris.

External link

• Biography of Alexander Tcherepnin - The Tcherepnin Society