Lopatnikoff, Nikolai, 1903-1976

From the opera in three acts and ten scenes. Composed 1930-32. Suite extracted 1933.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

From the description of Danton suite : suite from the opera "Danton," op. 20 / Nikolai Lopatnikoff. [1965] (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 52833186

Nikolai Lopatnikoff (b. Mar. 16, 1903, in Revel (now Tallinn), Estonia; d. Oct. 7, 1976, in Pittsburgh) was a composer. His family settled in Heidelberg after the Russian Revolution of 1917 and in 1921 Lopatnikoff began studying with Ernst Toch and Will Rehberg in Mannheim, Germany. His music was premiered in Germany. He moved to London in 1936 and then New York in 1939 where he taught at various American institutions. From 1948 to 1958, he was in summer residence at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, N.H.

From the description of Nikolai Lopatnikoff collection, 1916-1979 (bulk 1920-1976). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 71055990

Commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Musical Heritage Fund. Composed 1970-71. First performance Pittsburgh, 21 January 1972, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg conductor. The third movement is a revision and expansion of the Andante movement of Partita Concertante, Op. 45, itself a revision of the Andante movement of Divertimento da Camera, Op. 44. Symphony dedicated to the memory of Agnes J. Dodds Motheral.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

From the description of Symphony no. 4, op. 46 / Nikolai Lopatnikoff. [19--] (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 52833248

Commissioned by the Koussevitzky Music Foundation. Composed 1944. First performance Boston, 2 March 1945, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky conductor--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

From the description of Concertino for orchestra, op. 30 / Nikolai Lopatnikoff. [1944] (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 52833167

Composed 1954. First performance Pittsburgh, 10 December 1954, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg conductor.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

From the description of Symphony nr. 3, op. 35 / Nikolai Lopatnikoff. [19--] (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 52833225

Commissioned by the Musical Arts Society of La Jolla, California. Composed 1951. First performance La Jolla, 19 August 1951, La Jolla Festival Orchestra, Nikolai Sokoloff conductor. Dedicated to Augustus L. Searle and the Advisory Board of the Musical Arts Society of La Jolla. --Cf. Fleisher Collection.

From the description of Divertimento for orchestra, op. 34 / Nikolai. c1954. (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 52833206

Composed 1939 in 4 movements. First performance Boston, 22 December 1939, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky conductor. Second and third movements now Deux Nocturnes, see callno.: 3761; present middle movement added 1940.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

From the description of Symphony no. 2, op. 24 / Nikolai Lopatnikoff. [1939] (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 52833222

Completed 1941. First performance Boston 17 April, 1942, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky conductor, Richard Burgis soloist.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

From the description of Concerto for violin and orchestra, op. 26 / Nikolai Lopatnikoff. [19--]. (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 41956013

Composed 1942. First performance on a CBS radio broadcast, New York, 27 April 1942, Columbia Concert Orchestra, Howard Barlow conductor. First concert performance at the 19th Festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music, Berkeley, California, August 1942, California Youth Orchestra of Mills College, Willem van den Burg conductor.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

From the description of Symphonietta, op. 27 / Nikolai Lopatnikoff. [1942] (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 52833219

Composer.

From the description of Nikolai Lopatnikoff autograph letter to [Koussevitzky?], 1941 Feb. 24. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 370393364

From the opera in three acts and ten scenes, composed 1930-32. Based on the drama Dantons Tod by Georg Buchner. Never staged. These excerpts 1965. First performance Pittsburgh, 25 March 1967, Pittsburgh Symphony, William Steinberg conductor, Beatrice Krebs contralto, Lee Case baritone. --Cf. Fleisher Collection.

From the description of Concert excerpts from the opera Danton / Nikolai Lopatnikoff. c1977. (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 52833176

Composed 1933-41. First performance Cleveland, 9 December 1943, Cleveland Orchestra, Erich Leinsdorf conductor. Won the Cleveland Orchestra's 25th Anniversary Competition.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

From the description of Opus sinfonicum, op. 21 / Nikolai Lopatnikoff. [19--] (Franklin & Marshall College). WorldCat record id: 52833215

Biographical Note

• 1903 Mar 16: Nikolai [Nikolaĭ] Lvovich Lopatnikoff is born in Reval, Russia (now Tallinn, Estonia), the youngest of four children of Leo Lopatnikoff and Ida Feitelberg.
• 1907 (circa): The Lopatnikoff family moves to St. Petersburg, Russia, where Nikolai begins his musical studies in piano and theory at the Conservatory.
• 1917 Nov: The family moves to Helsinki, Finland, following the Russian Revolution. Nikolai attends high school there, and continues his theory studies with Erik Furuhjelm.
• 1920: The family moves to Heidelberg, Germany, where Nikolai continues his musical studies with Hermann Grabner.
• 1921: Begins private studies in composition with Ernst Toch and Willy Rehberg in Mannheim, Germany.
• 1923 May 16: Enrolls at the Badische Technische Hochschüle in Karlsruhe, Germany, to begin civil engineering studies.
• 1925 Nov 3: Première of Concerto no. 1 for piano and orchestra in Cologne, Germany, with Hans Bruch as soloist.
• 1926: Marries Eleanore Lashchinsky in Strasbourg, France. The couple settles in Karlsruhe.
• 1927 Jun 28: Graduates from the Badische Technische Hochschüle; however, after his first compositions meet with critical acclaim, he decides to concentrate on a career in music. He begins concertizing throughout Europe as a pianist.
• 1927: Meets Serge Koussevitzky through Aaron Copland at a music festival in Baden-Baden, Germany, at which the Scherzo and Toccata for mechanical piano is performed. Koussevitzky commissions an arrangement of the Scherzo to be performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra the following year.
• 1928: Moves to Berlin.
• 1929 Jan 9: Première of Symphony no. 1 in Karlsruhe. Later this year Lopatnikoff is awarded the Belaïeff Prize in Paris for his String Quartet no. 2. Begins contributing articles to Modern Music magazine, which continues until 1937.
• 1930: Awarded Reichs-Rundfunk Gesellschaft prize for Symphony no. 1. The work is included in the Philadelphia Orchestra's concert tour repertoire.
• 1931 - 32 : Composition of the opera Danton, to be premiered simultaneously in Cologne and Zürich in 1933, but cancelled due to the ascent to power of the Nazi regime.
• 1936: Moves to London. Begins teaching privately and arranging music for the BBC.
• 1939: Moves to the United States and settles in New York.
• 1943: Revised version of Opus Sinfonicum (1942; first version, 1933) wins first prize at this year's Cleveland Orchestra competition.
• 1944: Becomes an American citizen. Awarded a Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation commission for his Concertino. Holds teaching positions at the Hartt College of Music in Hartford, Connecticut, and at the Westchester Conservatory in White Plains, New York.
• 1945 Jul 22: Eleanore Lashchinsky Lopatnikoff dies.
• 1945 Sep: Accepts a teaching position on the music faculty of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, later Carnegie-Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• 1948: Spends the summer at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hamp-shire, the first of a ten-year summer residence.
• 1950: Meets the American poet Sara Henderson Hay at the MacDowell Colony. They are married the following year on January 27 in New York.
• 1963: Elected to membership in the National Institute of Arts and Letters.
• 1969: Retires from his professorship at the Carnegie Institute of Technology.
• 1976 Mar 26: Première of last completed work, Melting-Pot, commissioned by the Indianapolis Ballet, in Indianapolis.
• 1976 Oct 7: Dies from congestive heart failure at his home in Pittsburgh.

From the guide to the Nikolai Lopatnikoff Collection, 1916-1979, (bulk 1920-1976), (Music Division Library of Congress)