Varvara Adrianovna Gaigerova

Varvara Adrianovna Gaigerova, Russian: Варвара Адриановна Гайгерова, (b. 17 October [O.S. 4 October] 1903, Orekhovo-Zuyevo, Russian Empire; d. 6 April 1944, Moscow) was a Russian composer and pianist.

Life

Varvara Adrianovna Gaigerova studied composition under Georgy Catoire and Nikolai Myaskovsky and piano under Heinrich Neuhaus at Moscow Conservatory, where she graduated in 1927. At the Bolshoi Theatre she worked as "concertmistress"^[1] from 1936 to 1944.

Gaigerova was interested in the musical folklore of the southeastern people of Soviet Russia. In her compositions she uses folk music of various regions like Kalmykia, Buryatia, Kazakhstan, Turkestan, and Uzbekistan.

Selected works

• Krepost u kamennogo broda (opera based on Lermontov and some Caucasian poets; 1937–40)
• Symphony No. 1 (1928)
• Symphony No. 2 on Kalmuk Themes (1934)
• Symphony No. 3 (1936)
• Symphonic Suite on Caucasian Themes
• Suite on Udmurt Themes (domra orch)
• Two Suites on Kazakh Themes (domra orch)
• String Quartet (1926–27)
• String Quartet on Yakuts Themes (1947)
• Suite in D minor for viola and piano, op. 8
• Four Sketches (Четыре эскиза) for piano (1926)
• Sonata for piano
• Sonatina on Buryat-Mongolian Themes (1949)
• Five Romances (Pushkin) (1937)
• Arrangements of Russian, Kalmuk, Bashkir, Byelorussian, Buryat, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Udmurt, Tatar and Uzbek songs

References

• Vodarsky-Shiraeff, Alexandria (1940). Russian composers and musicians; a biographical dictionary. New York: Greenwood Press. p. 46.
• Cohen, Aaron I. (1987). International encyclopedia of women composers. 1. New York: Books & Music. p. 255. ISBN 0-9617485-0-8.
• Ho, Allan Benedict; Feofanov, Dmitry (1989). Biographical dictionary of Russian/Soviet composers. New York: Greenwood Press. p. 158. ISBN 0-313-24485-5.
• Hixon, Donald L.; Hennessee, Don A. (1993). Women in music. An encyclopedic biobibliography. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 384. ISBN 0-8108-2769-7.
• Haag, John (2000). "Gaigerova, Varvara Andrianovna (1903–1944)". In Commire, Anne. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. 6. Waterford: Yorkin. pp. 17–18. ISBN 0-7876-4065-4.
• Dees, Pamela Youngdahl (2004). A Guide to Piano Music by Women Composers. Women born after 1900. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. ISBN 0-313-31990-1.

External links

• Works by or about Gaĭgerova, V. (Varvara) 1903-1944 in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Free scores by Gaygerova, Varvara at the International Music Score Library Project
• Варвара Адриановна Гайгерова, short biography and works list, biografija.ru (Russian)
• Варвара Адриановна Гайгерова, catalogue entry at Российская государственная библиотека (RSL) (Russian)
• Meet the Composers: Varvara Adrianovna Gaigerova at violists Eliesha Nelson's website
• Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise, review of CD Russian Viola Sonatas by violist Eliesha Nelson and pianist Glen Inanga, 22 July 2011

Notes

1. In Russian, unlike in English, the term "concertmaster" may also denote an assistant to the principal conductor, who collaborates in preparing an opera production and conducts subsequent performances, equivalent to a répétiteur or Kapellmeister