Nikolai Nikolayevich Karetnikov (
Russian: Николáй Николáeвич Карéтников; 28 June 1930 in
Moscow – 9 October 1994 in Moscow) was a Russian composer of the so-called
Underground – alternative or
nonconformist group in
Soviet music.
Biography
Karetnikov studied at the Central Musical School (1942–1948) and the
Moscow Conservatory (1948–1953) where his teachers were
Vissarion Shebalin (composition),
Tatiana Nikolayeva (piano), Igor Sposobin and Viktor Tsukkerman (theory). He also studied privately with
Philip Herschkowitz, a pupil of
Berg and
Webern. He was influenced by music of the New Viennese school and was a firm supporter of
twelve-tone technique. His ballets Vanina Vannini and The Geologists were performed at the
Bolshoi Theatre with choreography by
Natalia Kasatkina and
Vladimir Vasiliev. However, the authorities found the music unacceptable. It was criticized, and then banned from the performances in the
Soviet Union for decades.
His
Symphony No. 4 (1963) received its first performance in 1968 in
Prague, just before the Soviet army invasion to suppress the
Prague Spring. His third ballet Little Zaches Called Zinnober was performed at the
Hanover Opera House (1971) in the composer's absence, because he was not given permission to travel abroad. His main activity at that time was writing incidental music for theatre, film and television.
He continued to compose and publish his serious works in secrecy. He wrote two large scale operas Till Eulenspiegel (1965–1985) and The Mystery of Apostle Paul, (1970–1987). Having no opportunity to perform these works in public, he persuaded the Moscow Cinema Orchestra to make the recording for him privately, section by section over the years. When the tape was ready, the vocal parts were added. This was, perhaps, the only examples of a
samizdat (underground) opera. Finally, Till Eulenspiegel was premiered by the
Bielefeld Opera in
Germany conducted by
Geoffrey Moull in 1993, and The Mystery of Apostle Paul was premiered in concert on August 4, 1995,
Hanover after the composer's death.
Karetnikov was also the author of a collection of autobiographical stories called Темы с вариациями (Themes with Variations), published in
Russia in 1990 (A French translation was published in the same year by Editions Horay).
10 Pieces for piano written in school years (1943–1946)
Lento-Variations for piano (1960)
Sonata for violin and piano (1961)
String Quartet(1963)
Little Night Music, quartet for flute, clarinet, violin and cello (1969)
Concert Piece for piano (1970)
Two Pieces for piano (1974)
From
Sholom Aleichem, concert suite for chamber orchestra (1985)
Piano Quintet (1991)
Soundtracks
Incidental music for theatre: about 40 including "
King Lear", "A Man for All Seasons", "
Macbeth", etc.
Film scores: about 60 including "Run", "A Rotten Tale", "First Russians", etc.
Radio & TV music
Recordings
Melodia C10 29949 000. (LP) Recorded: 1988. Nikolai Karetnikov: Тиль Уленшпигель [Til’ Eulenspiegel] (1985). Soviet State Cinema Orchestra; Conductors: Emin Khachaturian and Valery Poliansky.
Le Chant du Monde LDC 288029/30. Nikolai Karetnikov: Till Eulenspiegel (Opera in 2 Acts) 2 CDs. Soviet State Cinema Orchestra; Conductors: Emin Khatchaturian/Valery Poliansky
Le Chant du Monde, Russian Season LDC288070, Released: February 1994. Audio CD DDD. Karetnikov, Nikolai: Chamber Music. Performers:
Oleg Kagan, Vladimir Skanavi, Vladimir Loukianov, Konstantin Komissarov, Alexander Petrov, Alexander Gothelf, and Yury Slessarev.